Electrocatalyst powders, methods for producing powders and devices fabricated from same

ABSTRACT

Electrocatalyst powders and methods for producing electrocatalyst powders, such as carbon composite electrocatalyst powders. The powders have a well-controlled microstructure and morphology. The method includes forming the particles from an aerosol of precursors by heating the aerosol to a relatively low temperature, such as not greater than about 400° C.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/532,917 filed on Mar. 22, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,680, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/141,397, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,393, filed on Aug. 27,1998. Each of the foregoing is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to particulate materials such as electrocatalyst powders for the fabrication of energy devices and to methods for producing such powders, as well as products and devices incorporating the powders. The powders are preferably produced by spray conversion of precursors to the particulate materials.

2. Description of Related Art

With the advent of portable and hand-held electronic devices and an increasing demand for electric automobiles due to the increased strain on non-renewable natural resources, there is a need for the rapid development of high performance, economical power systems. Such power systems require improved devices for energy storage using batteries and energy generation using fuel cells.

Batteries can be divided into primary (non-rechargeable) and secondary (rechargeable) batteries. Common types of primary batteries include metal-air batteries such as Zn-air, Li-air and Al-air, alkaline batteries and lithium batteries. Common types of secondary batteries include nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride and lithium ion batteries.

One type of metal-air battery which offers many competitive advantages is the zinc-air battery, which relies upon the redox couples of oxygen and zinc. Zinc-air batteries operate by adsorbing oxygen from the surrounding air and reducing the oxygen using an oxygen reduction catalyst at the cathode, referred to as the air electrode. As the oxygen is reduced, zinc metal is oxidized. The reactions of a zinc-air alkaline battery during discharge are: Cathode: O₂+2H₂O+4e ⁻------->4OH³¹ Anode: 2Zn------->2Zn²⁺+4e ⁻ Overall: 2Zn+O₂+2H₂O------->2Zn(OH)₂

Typically, the air electrodes are alternatively stacked with the zinc electrodes and are packaged in a container that is open to the air. When the battery cell discharges, oxygen is reduced to O²⁻ at the cathode while zinc metal is oxidized to Zn²⁺ at the anode. Since Zn can be electrodeposited from aqueous electrolytes to replenish the anode, zinc-air batteries can be secondary batteries as well as primary batteries.

Among the advantages of secondary zinc-air batteries over other rechargeable battery systems are safety, long run time and light weight. The batteries contain no toxic materials and operate at one atmosphere of pressure. They can operate as long as 10 to 14 hours, compared to 2 to 4 hours for most rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and can be stored for long periods of time without losing their charge. The light weight of zinc-air batteries leads to good power density (power per unit of weight or volume), which is ideal for portable applications.

The two major problems associated with secondary zinc-air batteries, however, are limited total power and poor rechargeability/cycle lifetime. Increased power is becoming a major area of attention for battery manufacturers trying to meet the increased demands of modern electronics. Current zinc-air batteries can deliver from about 200 to 450 W/kg which may enable the batteries to be used in certain low-power laptops and other portable devices that have relatively low power requirements. Most laptops and other portable electronic devices, however, require batteries that are able to provide a level of power that is higher than the capabilities of current zinc-air batteries. The main reason for the low power of zinc-air batteries is believed to be related to the inefficiency of the catalytic reaction to reduce oxygen in the air electrodes. Poor accessibility of the catalyst and the local microstructural environment around the catalyst and adjoining carbon reduces the efficiency of the oxygen reduction. See, for example, P. N. Ross et al., Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol. 131, pg. 1742 (1984).

Rechargeability is also a problem with zinc-air batteries. The batteries have a short cycle life, degrading significantly in performance after about 200 recharging cycles or less. The short cycle life of zinc-air batteries is also believed to be related to the catalyst used in the air electrodes. Specifically, it is believed that corrosion of the carbon used for the electrocatalyst in these systems leads to a loss in capacity and hence, a decreased discharge time.

Primary (non-rechargeable) alkaline zinc-air batteries are currently used to power hearing aids and other devices that require low current densities over long periods of time. Zinc-air hearing aid batteries also include an air cathode and a zinc-based anode. The electrocatalyst powder is formed into a layer for the air cathode which catalytically converts oxygen in the air into hydroxide ion. The hydroxide ion is then transported in an alkaline electrolyte through a separator to the anode where it reacts with zinc to form zincate (Zn(OH)₄ ²⁻) ion and zinc ion (Zn²⁺) and liberates electrons. Improved electrocatalyst powders at the air cathode would advantageously extend the life of such primary batteries.

In addition to improvements in energy storage, there is a need for improvements in environmentally friendly and economical energy production. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices which are capable of converting the energy of a chemical reaction into electrical energy without combustion and with virtually no pollution. Fuel cells are unlike batteries because fuel cells convert chemical energy to electrical energy as the chemical reactants are continuously delivered to the fuel cell. When the fuel cell is off, it has zero electrical potential. As a result, fuel cells are typically used to produce a continuous source of electrical energy and compete with other forms of continuous electrical energy production such as the combustion engine, nuclear power and coal-fired power stations. Different types of fuel cells are categorized by the electrolyte used in the fuel cell. The five main types of fuel cells are alkaline, molten carbonate, phosphoric acid, solid oxide and proton exchange membrane (PEM) or solid polymer fuel cells.

One of the critical requirements for these energy devices is the efficient catalytic conversion of the reactants to electrical energy. A significant obstacle to the wide-scale commercialization of such devices is the need for highly efficient electrocatalyst materials for this conversion process.

One example of a fuel cell utilizing electrocatalysts for the chemical reactions is a PEM fuel cell. A PEM fuel cell stack includes hundreds of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA's) each including a cathode and anode constructed from, for example, carbon cloth. The anode and cathode sandwich a proton exchange membrane which has a catalyst layer on each side of the membrane. Power is generated when hydrogen is fed into the anode and oxygen (air) is fed into the cathode. In a reaction typically catalyzed by a platinum-based catalyst in the catalyst layer of the anode, the hydrogen ionizes to form protons and electrons. The protons are transported through the proton exchange membrane to a catalyst layer on the opposite side of the membrane (the cathode) where another catalyst, typically platinum or a platinum alloy, catalyzes the reaction of the protons with oxygen to form water. The reactions can be written as follows: Anode: 2H₂------->4H⁺+4e ⁻ Cathode: 4H⁺+4e ⁻+O₂------->2H₂O Overall: 2H₂+O₂------->2H₂O The electrons formed at the anode are routed to the cathode through an electrical circuit which provides the electrical power.

The critical issues that must be addressed for the successful commercialization of fuel cells are cell cost, cell performance and operating lifetime. For automotive applications improved power density is critical whereas for stationary applications higher voltage efficiencies are necessary. In terms of fuel cell cost, current fuel cell stacks employ MEA's that include platinum electrocatalysts with a loading of about 4 milligrams of platinum per square centimeter on each of the anode and cathode. At a typical cell performance of 0.42 watts per square centimeter, then about 19 grams of platinum per kilowatt is required (8 mg Pt per cm² over 0.42 watts per cm²). Platinum metal is very expensive and a significant cost reduction in the electrocatalyst is necessary for these cells to become economically viable. However, reducing the amount of precious metal is not a suitable solution because there is also a strong demand for improved cell performance which relies on the presence of the platinum electrocatalyst.

The major technical challenge is improving the performance of the cathode with air as the oxidant. Platinum metal electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction are used in both alkaline and acid electrolyte media and are used in PEM fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells, hybrid fuel cells and others.

The conventional synthesis of electrocatalyst powders that include active species on a support material involves several steps. First, an appropriate high surface area catalyst support (e.g., alumina, titania, silica or carbon) is impregnated with a solution containing the precursor of the active species. Sufficient contact time is used for the adsorption of the active species precursor to occur and to achieve a uniform deposition of the precursor on the support surface. The catalyst is then dried to remove the solvent, for example at temperatures of 100° C. to 120° C. for about 2 to 12 hours. The catalyst is then heated to elevated temperatures, typically 400° C. to 600° C. in air, so that the precursor is converted to the active species. Typically, the oxide catalysts do not require further treatment.

The foregoing method generally results in poor control over the composition and microstructure of the composite powders. The morphology and surface area of the electrocatalyst powders are characteristics that have a critical impact on the performance of the catalyst. The morphology determines the packing density and the surface area determines the type and number of surface adsorption centers where the active species are formed during synthesis of the electrocatalyst. The inability to control the fundamental electrocatalyst powder characteristics is a major obstacle for the future development of energy storage and production devices.

Methods for preparing noble metal electrocatalyst materials are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,336 by VanMontfoort et al. discloses a process for preparing an active noble metal catalyst on a carbon carrier, such as palladium on carbon, by adsorbing a salt of the metal onto the carbon, forming an oxide or hydroxide from the metal salt and reducing the oxide or hydroxide to a metal. The carbon support comprises porous active carbon particles having a widely varying particle size of less than 1 μm up to 60 μm. The catalyst comprises from about 0.1 to about 15 percent by weight of the noble metal. It is disclosed that the noble metal is deposited on the carbon carrier in the form of very small crystallites which have a high degree of catalytic activity per gram of noble metal.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,059 by Jalan et al. discloses a method for the production of electrochemically active platinum particles for use in fuel cell electrodes. The particles are formed by mixing chloroplatinic acid and sodium dithionite in water to provide a colloidal dispersion which is absorbed onto a support material (e.g., carbon black).

U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,641 by Wennerberg discloses a high surface area porous active carbon matrix containing a uniform dispersion of a metal. The material is formed by spray drying a carbon precursor and a metal precursor to form particles and then pyrolyzing the spray dried particles under an inert gas and in the presence of an alkali metal hydroxide. A preferred heating method for the pyrolyzation step, is to heat using microwave heating. It is disclosed that the metal crystals have a size from about 5 to 30 angstroms and are disposed on active carbon having a cage-like structure.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,924 by Ozin et al. discloses a carbon-metal catalyst having an active metal such as silver deposited on the carbon substrate in a zero-valent, small cluster form. The catalyst is produced by vaporizing the metal under low vapor pressure conditions in an organic liquid solvent such that the metal dissolves in the solvent. The solvent is then contacted with carbon so that the complex diffuses onto the surface of the carbon and into the pores of the carbon. The carbon particles have a metal loading of 0.1 to 15 weight percent.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,537 by Tamura et al. discloses a process for producing a catalyst useful for converting carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. The process includes contacting activated carbon with an aqueous solution of chloroplatinic acid, reducing the absorbed chloroplatinic acid to platinum with a reducing agent and decomposing the excess reducing agent. The catalyst preferably contains at least about 6 milligrams of platinum per gram of activated carbon. The activated carbon particles have an average grain size of from about 0.4 to about 10 millimeters.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,128 by Itoh et al. discloses a supported platinum alloy electrocatalyst for an acid electrolyte fuel cell. The platinum alloy includes platinum, iron and copper. The electrocatalyst has better initial activity and lifetime than conventional platinum or other multi-component alloy electrocatalysts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,563 by Brand et al. discloses a platinum/cobalt/chromium catalytic alloy which is precipitated onto a carbon support from nitrate salts.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,189 by Tachibana discloses a porous, metal-containing carbon material which includes fine particles of a metal having an average particle size of 1 μm or less dispersed in a carbonaceous body. The method includes mixing a metal oxide with an organic, carbonizing and converting the oxide to metal particles. The catalyst includes from about 5 to 50 weight percent metal.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,161 by Keck et al. discloses an electrocatalytic material suitable for use in phosphoric acid fuel cells. The material includes an alloy of platinum with another element such as titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, gallium, zirconium or hafnium. The platinum alloy loading is 20 to 60 weight percent and the electrochemical area of the alloy is greater than about 35 m²/g.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,699 by Weiss et al. discloses a catalyst containing from 0.01 to 5 weight percent platinum on a graphite support. The graphite support has a particle size distribution of from about 1 to 600 μm. The catalyst material has good longevity when used for hydrogenation reactions.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,169 by Callstrom et al. discloses an electrocatalytic material including glassy carbon which contains graphite crystals having a size of from about 1 to 20 nanometers.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,915 by Hards et al. discloses a porous electrode suitable for use in a solid polymer fuel cell which includes highly dispersed precious metal catalyst on particulate carbon which is impregnated with a proton conducting polymer.

The foregoing methods generally result in poor control over the composition and microstructure of the electrocatalytic materials, as well as poor control over the dispersibility and surface area of the active species on the carbon surface. Further, alloy compositions such as platinum/ruthenium used for oxygen reduction in a fuel cell are not made in a consistently reproducible fashion. The inability to control the fundamental powder characteristics is a major obstacle to the development of more efficient electrocatalyst materials.

It would be advantageous to provide a flexible production method capable of producing electrocatalyst powders which would enable control over the powder characteristics such as particle size, surface area and pore structure as well as the versatility to accommodate compositions which are either difficult or impossible to produce using existing production methods. It would be particularly advantageous if such powders could be produced in large quantities on a substantially continuous basis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a two-fluid nozzle that is useful for the production of electrocatalyst powders according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a spray dryer that is useful for the production of electrocatalyst powders according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a process block diagram showing one embodiment of the process of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view in cross section of one embodiment of aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a transducer mounting plate showing a 49 transducer array for use in an aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of a transducer mounting plate for a 400 transducer array for use in an ultrasonic generator of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the transducer mounting plate shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a partial side view showing the profile of a single transducer mounting receptacle of the transducer mounting plate shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a partial side view in cross-section showing an alternative embodiment for mounting an ultrasonic transducer.

FIG. 10 is a top view of a bottom retaining plate for retaining a separator for use in an aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a top view of a liquid feed box having a bottom retaining plate to assist in retaining a separator for use in an aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the liquid feed box shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a side view of a gas tube for delivering gas within an aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows a partial top view of gas tubes positioned in a liquid feed box for distributing gas relative to ultrasonic transducer positions for use in an aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows one embodiment for a gas distribution configuration for the aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows another embodiment for a gas distribution configuration for the aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a top view of one embodiment of a gas distribution plate/gas tube assembly of the aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a side view of one embodiment of the gas distribution plate/gas tube assembly shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 shows one embodiment for orienting a transducer in the aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a top view of a gas manifold for distributing gas within an aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a side view of the gas manifold shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a top view of a generator lid of a hood design for use in an aerosol generator of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a side view of the generator lid shown in FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a process block diagram of one embodiment of the process of the present invention including a droplet classifier.

FIG. 25 is a top view in cross section of an impactor of the present invention for use in classifying an aerosol.

FIG. 26 is a front view of a flow control plate of the impactor shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a front view of a mounting plate of the impactor shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 28 is a front view of an impactor plate assembly of the impactor shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 29 is a side view of the impactor plate assembly shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 is a process block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention including a particle cooler.

FIG. 31 is a top view of a gas quench cooler of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is an end view of the gas quench cooler shown in FIG. 31.

FIG. 33 is a side view of a perforated conduit of the quench cooler shown in FIG. 31.

FIG. 34 is a side view showing one embodiment of a gas quench cooler of the present invention connected with a cyclone.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention including a particle modifier.

FIGS. 36 a and 36 b schematically illustrate a zinc-air battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 schematically illustrates a membrane electrode assembly for use in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 illustrates a direct write deposition method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39 illustrates an SEM photomicrograph of an ultrasonically generated electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an ultrasonically generated electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 illustrates the particle size distribution of an ultrasonically generated electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42 illustrates the particle size distribution of an ultrasonically generated electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 43 illustrates an SEM photomicrograph of a spray dried electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 44 illustrates the particle size distribution of a spray dried electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45 illustrates the dependence of electrocatalytic activity on MnO_(x) cluster size according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 46 illustrates the dependence of electrocatalytic activity on the relative intensity of XPS peaks for an electrocatalyst powder according to the present invention.

FIG. 47 illustrates the effect of increasing manganese concentration on surface area for a high surface area electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 48 illustrates the effect of increasing manganese concentration on surface area for a high surface area electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 49 illustrates the effect of manganese concentration on the dispersion of the active species on a high surface area electrocatalyst powder according to the present invention.

FIG. 50 illustrates the effect of manganese concentration on the dispersion of the active species on a high surface area electrocatalyst powder according to the present invention.

FIG. 51 illustrates the efficiency of a bi-functional electrocatalyst powder according to the present invention when applied for oxygen reduction reaction.

FIG. 52 illustrates the efficiency of a bi-functional electrocatalyst powder according to the present invention when applied for oxygen evolution reaction.

FIG. 53 illustrates the voltaic efficiency of a bi-functional electrocatalyst powder according to the present invention when applied for both oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reaction.

FIG. 54 illustrates the recyclability of a metal hydride-air cell utilizing a bi-functional electrocatalyst powder according to the present invention when applied for both oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reaction.

FIG. 55 illustrates the capacity of a metal hydride-air cell utilizing a bi-functional electrocatalyst powder according to the present invention when applied for both oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reaction during its cycling.

FIG. 56 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 57 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 58 illustrates the effect of spray conversion temperature on surface area of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 59 illustrates the effect of spray conversion temperature on platinum metal binding energy for an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 60 illustrates the effect of spray conversion temperature has on metal dispersion on a carbon support for electrocatalyst powders according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 61 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of a prior art electrocatalyst powder.

FIG. 62 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of a prior art electrocatalyst powder.

FIG. 63 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 64 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 65 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 66 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 67 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 68 illustrates a TEM photomicrograph of an electrocatalyst powder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 69 illustrates the performance of membrane electrode assemblies.

FIG. 70 further illustrates the performance of membrane electrode assemblies.

FIG. 71 illustrates the performance of membrane electrode assemblies.

FIG. 72 illustrates the performance of membrane electrode assemblies.

FIG. 73 illustrates the performance of membrane electrode assemblies.

FIG. 74 illustrates the performance of membrane electrode assemblies.

FIG. 75 illustrates the performance of membrane electrode assemblies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to powders useful in energy devices, such as electrocatalyst powders useful in fuel cells and batteries, and to methods for producing the powders. One preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to composite electrocatalyst powders that are useful in batteries and fuel cells for catalyzing chemical reactions. The present invention is also directed to novel devices fabricated using the powders. One example is a fuel cell, such as a fuel cell where the electrode does not undergo a recharging step that involves oxidation. Another example is a primary metal-air battery that utilizes an air cathode to reduce oxygen.

As used herein, composite electrocatalyst powders or particles are those that include within the individual particles at least a first active species phase, such as a metal or a metal oxide, that is dispersed on a support phase, such as carbon or a metal oxide. The composite powders of the present invention are not mere physical admixtures of different particles, but are comprised of particles that include both an active species phase and a support phase. The compositions of the particle components can be varied independently and various combinations of carbons, metals, metal alloys, metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, organometallic compounds and their partial pyrolysis products can, be produced as may be required for a particular application. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to composite electrocatalyst particles with two or more different materials as the active species. As an example, combinations of Ag and MnO_(x) supported on carbon can be useful for some electrocatalytic applications. Other examples of multiple active species are mixtures of porphyrins, partially decomposed porphyrins, Co and CoO. Although carbon is a preferred material for the support phase, other materials such as metal oxides can also be useful for some electrocatalytic applications.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the electrocatalyst powder includes composite metal-carbon electrocatalyst particles. The composite metal-carbon electrocatalyst particles include an active species of at least a first metal phase dispersed on a carbon support phase. The metal phase can include any metal and the particularly preferred metal will depend upon the application of the powder. The metal phase can be a metal alloy wherein a first metal is alloyed with one or more alloying elements. As used herein, the term metal alloy includes intermetallic compounds between two or more metals. The metal-carbon electrocatalyst powders can also include two or more metals dispersed on the support as separate phases.

Preferred metals for the electrocatalytically active species include the platinum group metals and noble metals, particularly Pt, Ag, Pd, Ru, Os and their alloys. The metal phase can also include a metal selected from the group Ni, Rh, Ir, Co, Cr, Mo, W, V, Nb, Al, Ta, Ti, Zr, Hf, Zn, Fe, Cu, Ga, In, Si, Ge, Sn, Y, La, lanthanide metals and combinations or alloys of these metals. Preferred metal alloys for use according to the present invention include alloys of Pt with other metals, such as Ru, Os, Cr, Ni, Mn and Co. Particularly preferred among these is Pt/Ru for use in hydrogen anodes and Pt/Cr/Co for use in oxygen cathodes.

Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to metal oxide-carbon composite electrocatalyst particles which include an active metal oxide species dispersed on a carbon support. The metal oxide active species phase can be selected from the oxides of the transition metals, preferably those existing in oxides of variable oxidation states, and most preferably from those having an oxygen deficiency in their crystalline structure.

For example, the dispersed metal oxide can be an oxide of the metals Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Ni, Co, Rh, Ru, Fe, Mn, Cr, Mo, Re, W, Ta, Nb, V, Hf, Zr, Ti or Al. A particularly preferred metal oxide according to the present invention is manganese oxide (MnO_(x), where x is 1 to 2). The dispersed active phase can include a mixture of different oxides, solid solutions of two or more different metal oxides or double oxides. The metal oxides can be stoichiometric or non-stoichiometric and can be mixtures of oxides of one metal having different oxidation states. The metal oxides can also be amorphous.

For some applications such as secondary metal-air batteries, examples of electrocatalyst materials that can be used to catalyze the reduction and oxidation reactions according to the present invention include oxygen deficient metal oxides and metal oxides capable of undergoing reduction/oxidation reactions due to variations in the oxidation states of the metals contained in the metal oxide. Some compounds are multi-functional, providing numerous attributes in one compound. Such oxides do not necessarily have to be dispersed on a support phase.

For example, perovskite phase oxides can be used according to the present invention for electrocatalysts wherein the oxides provide electrocatalytic activity, a high surface area and electrical conductivity. Specific examples of such perovskite phase oxides include La_(1−x)Sr_(x)Fe_(0.6)Co_(0.4)O₃ (where x is from 0 to 1) and La_(1−x)Ca_(x)CoO₃ (where x is from 0 to 1). One particularly preferred metal oxide electrocatalyst according to the present invention is an oxygen-deficient cobalt-nickel oxide, Co_(x)Ni_(y)O_(z), which is useful for electrodes in metal hydride batteries. Other metal oxides within this category include spinels of the general formula AB₂O₄ where A is selected from divalent metals such as Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Fe, Ru, Co, Ni, Cu, Pd, Pt, Eu, Sm, Sn, Zn, Cd, Hg or combinations thereof and B is selected from trivalent metals such as Co, Mn, Re, Al, Ga, In, Fe, Ru, Os, Cr, Mo, W, Y, Sc, lanthanide metals or combinations thereof. Other useful metal oxides include manganese oxides, nickel oxides, cobalt oxides, iron oxides, titanium oxides, zirconium oxides, zinc oxides, indium oxide, indium tin oxide, gallium oxides and metal gallates, ruthenium oxides and metal ruthenates, chromium, molybdenum and tungsten oxides, copper oxides and copper containing perovskite phase metal oxides, vanadium, niobium and tantalum oxides.

A further class of catalysts that can be useful according to the present invention are those derived from molecular compounds that are either dispersed on a support phase or that have no support phase. Examples of such materials are metal porphyrin complexes which catalyze the reduction of O₂ to OH⁻ but are oxidized during the oxidation of OH⁻. These species are suitable for primary batteries and fuel cells such as alkaline fuel cells. Included in this group are metal porphyrin complexes of Co, Fe, Zn, Ni, Cu, Pd, Pt, Sn, Mo, Mn, Os, Ir and Ru. Other metal ligand complexes can be active in these catalytic oxidation and reduction reactions and can be formed by the methods described herein. Such metal ligands can be selected from the class of N4-metal chelates, represented by porphyrins, tetraazaanulens, phtalocyanines and other chelating agents. In some cases the organic ligands are active in catalyzing reduction and oxidation reactions. In some cases the ligands are active when they remain intact, as might be the case for an intact porphyrin ring system, or they might be partially reacted during thermal processing to form a different species that could also be active in the catalytic reactions. An example is the reaction product derived from porphyrins or other organic compounds. Carbon is required for the reduction of O₂ to OH⁻ and is believed to be involved in the reduction of peroxide to hydroxide ion. Other carbon based active species include homo- and heterofullerene and carbon nanotube based materials.

With respect to the composite electrocatalyst particles of the present invention, the characteristics of the secondary support phase, the primary particles constituting the support phase and the active species can be independently controlled to yield different performance characteristics for a particular application.

The composite electrocatalyst powders include a secondary support phase consisting of agglomerates of smaller primary particles such as carbon or metal oxide which supports the active species. Two or more types of primary particles can be mixed to form the secondary support phase. As an example, two or more types of particulate carbon (e.g., amorphous and graphitic) can be combined to form the secondary support phase. The two types of particulate carbon can have different performance characteristics that combine to enhance the performance of the catalyst.

It is an advantage of the present invention that the composition of the electrocatalyst particles can be homogeneous. A degree of homogeneity in materials is often not obtainable by traditional forming methods such as liquid precipitation. However, it is also possible to intentionally provide compositional gradients within the electrocatalyst particles. For example, the active species concentration in a composite particle can be higher or lower at the surface of the support phase than near the center and gradients corresponding to compositional changes of 10 to 100 weight percent can be obtained. When the particles are deposited by direct-write deposition, the particles retain their structural morphology and therefore the functionality of the compositional gradient can be exploited.

The preferred form of carbon for crystalline supported active species are those which are amorphous. The preferred carbons for supported metals like Pt are carbons that are crystalline since Pt dispersion is favored by reduced carbon surfaces with substantially no surface hydroxyls. For supported MnO_(x), it is also preferred to have a crystalline carbon support. Preferably, the crystallinity of the primary particles constituting the support phase is controlled through the selection of materials chosen for a specific application. Graphitic carbon is preferred for long term operational stability of fuel cells and batteries. Amorphous carbon is preferred when a smaller crystallite size is desired for the supported active species.

The overall density of the secondary support phase in the composite particles is related to the porosity of the support phase. It is preferred that the accessible (e.g., open) porosity in the composite electrocatalyst particles is from about 5 to 98 percent and more preferably is at least about 40 percent. The pore size distribution in the secondary support phase can also be controlled and the average pore size is preferably from about 10 to about 100 nanometers. High porosity is advantageous for rapid transport of species into and out of the secondary structures. Lower particle densities also allow easier suspension of the particles for printing techniques such as ink-jet deposition where suspension of particles for long periods is required. As an example, an aerogel carbon or metal oxide can have a density much lower than 1 g/cm³.

Agglomeration of the electrocatalyst particles can affect the properties of the powder batch such as the ability to disperse the powder into liquids used to deposit the particles. It is therefore preferred that minimal agglomeration of the particles exist in the powder batch.

It is also an advantage of the present invention that the electrocatalyst particles are substantially spherical in shape. That is, the particles are preferably not jagged or irregular in shape. Spherical particles can advantageously be deposited using a variety of techniques, including direct write deposition, and can form layers that are thin and have a high packing density.

In addition, the composite electrocatalyst powders according to the present invention preferably has a surface area of at least about 25 m²/g, more preferably at least about 90 m²/g and even more preferably at least about 600 m²/g. Surface area is typically measured using the BET nitrogen adsorption method which is indicative of the surface area of the powder, including the surface area of accessible pores on the surface of the particles. High surface area generally leads to increased catalytic activity.

The electrocatalyst powders of the present invention preferably have a well-controlled particle size. Preferably, the volume average particle size is not greater than about 100 μm, more preferably is not greater than about 20 μm and even more preferably is not greater than about 10 μm. Further, it is preferred that the volume average particle size is at least about 0.3 μm, more preferably is at least about 0.5 μm and even more preferably is at least about 1 μm. As used herein, the average particle size is the median particle size (d₅₀). Powder batches having an average particle size within the preferred parameters disclosed herein enable the formation of thin electrocatalytic layers which are advantageous for producing energy devices such as batteries and fuel cells according to the present invention.

The particle size distributions of the secondary support phase, the primary particles, and the active species are important in determining catalytic performance and can be well controlled. Narrower particle size distributions are preferred for the secondary support phase to allow deposition of the particles through a narrow orifice without clogging. For example, it is preferred that at least about 50 volume percent of the particles have a size of not greater than about two times the volume average particle size and it is more preferred that at least about 75 volume percent of the particles have a size of not greater than about two times the volume average particle size. The particle size distribution can be bimodal or trimodal which can advantageously provide improved packing density.

The powders produced by the processes described herein, namely spray pyrolysis or spray conversion, can include some agglomerates of spherical particles. Micrometer-sized particles often form soft agglomerates as a result of their high surface energy. Such soft agglomerates may be dispersed by treatments such as exposure to ultrasound in a liquid medium or sieving. The particle size distributions described herein are measured by mixing samples of the powders in a medium such as water with a surfactant and a short exposure to ultrasound through either an ultrasonic bath or horn. The ultrasonic horn supplies sufficient energy to disperse the soft agglomerates into the primary spherical particles. The primary particle size distribution is then measured by light scattering, such as in a MICROTRAC particle size analyzer (Honeywell Industrial Automation and Control, Fort Washington, Pa.). This provides a good measure of the useful dispersion characteristics of the powder because this simulates the dispersion of the particles in a liquid medium such as a paste or slurry that is used to deposit the particles in a device. Thus, the particle size referred to herein refers to the particle size after dispersion of soft agglomerates.

The composite electrocatalyst particles preferably include a carbon support with at least about 10 weight percent and more preferably at least about 20 weight percent of the catalytically active species dispersed on the support surface. In one embodiment, the particles include from about 20 to about 40 weight percent of the active species phase. Thus, the particles preferably include not greater than about 90 weight percent, more preferably not greater than about 80 weight percent carbon. It has been found that such compositional levels give rise to the most advantageous electrocatalyst properties. However, the preferred level of the active species dispersed on the carbon support will depend upon the total surface area of the carbon, the type of active species and the application of the powder. A carbon support having a very high surface area will accommodate a higher percentage of active species on its surface and is therefore preferred.

It is preferred that the average size of the active species phase dispersed on the support phase is such that the particles include small single crystals or crystallite clusters, collectively referred to herein as clusters. Accordingly, the average active species cluster size is preferably not greater than about 20 nanometers, more preferably is not greater than about 10 nanometers and even more preferably is not greater than about 5 nanometers, such as from about 0.5 to 5 nanometers. According to one embodiment of the present invention, at least about 20 weight percent and more preferably at least about 30 weight percent of the active species clusters have a size of not greater than about 3 nanometers. Composite electrocatalyst powders having such small crystallite clusters advantageously have enhanced catalytic properties as compared to composite powders comprising an active species phase having larger clusters. The method of the present invention advantageously permits control over the crystallinity by controlling the reaction temperature and/or residence time.

When the active species includes a metal, the oxidation state of the metal in the metal phase is preferably close to zero, i.e., a pure metal. It is believed that higher oxidation states are detrimental to electrocatalyst powder activity. The method of the present invention advantageously enables good control over the oxidation state of the metal.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for preparing an electrocatalyst powder batch. A liquid precursor is converted to aerosol form and liquid from the droplets in the aerosol is then removed to permit formation of the desired particles in a dispersed state. Although the electrocatalyst powder batch is typically manufactured in a dry state, the powder may, after manufacture, be placed in a wet environment, such as in a paste or slurry.

The method for the production of the composite electrocatalyst powders according to the present invention, referred to herein as spray conversion or spray pyrolysis, generally includes the steps of: providing a liquid precursor which includes a precursor to the support phase (e.g., carbon) and a precursor to the active species; atomizing the precursor to form a suspension of liquid precursor droplets; and removing liquid from liquid precursor droplets to form the powder. For electrocatalysts that are not supported, the precursor to the support phase is not necessary. At least one component of the liquid precursor is chemically converted into a desired component of the powder. According to the present invention, the drying of the precursors and the conversion to a catalytically active species are advantageously combined in one step, where both the removal of the solvent and the conversion of a precursor to the active species occur essentially simultaneously. Combined with a short reaction time, this enables control over the distribution of the active species on the support, the oxidation state of the active species and the crystallinity of the active species. By varying reaction time, temperature, type of support material and type of precursors, the method of the present invention can produce catalyst morphologies and active species structures which yield improved catalytic performance.

A unique characteristic of the present process is the simultaneous formation of a secondary support phase such as carbon. The secondary support phase forms as a result of the formation and drying of the droplets during the spray conversion process and the characteristics of the primary support particles such as particle size, particle size distribution and surface area influence the properties of the support phase.

The first step in the fabrication of the electrocatalyst particles according to the present invention is to form a liquid precursor to the particles. In the case of composite electrocatalyst powders, the liquid precursor includes a precursor to both the active species and the support phase. Proper selection of the precursors enables the production of particles having well-controlled chemical and physical properties.

For the production of metal-carbon composite electrocatalyst particles according to the present invention, the precursor solution includes at least one metal precursor. The metal precursor may be a substance in either a liquid or solid phase. Preferably, the metal precursor will be a metal-containing compound, such as a salt, dissolved in a liquid solvent of the liquid feed. For example, the precursor solution can include nitrates, chlorides, sulfates, hydroxides, or carboxylates of a metal. In this case, metal precursor will undergo one or more chemical reactions in the furnace to convert to a metallic state and form the electrocatalyst particles of the present invention. It may be desirable to acidify the precursor solution to increase the solubility, such as by adding hydrochloric acid.

A preferred catalytically active metal according to the present invention is platinum (Pt) and preferred precursors for platinum metal according to the present invention are chloroplatinic acid (H₂PtCl₆.xH₂O), Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ and hydroxoplatinic acid (H₂Pt(OH)₆). Other platinum precursors include Pt-nitrates, Pt-ammine nitrates, PtCl₄, Na₂PtCl₄, and the like. Chloroplatinic acid is soluble in water and the solutions advantageously maintain a low viscosity. H₂Pt(OH)₆ is advantageous since it converts to platinum metal at relatively low temperatures.

Palladium precursors include inorganic Pd salts such as H₂PdCl₄ or Na₂PdCl₄, complex Pd salts such as Pd(NH₃)₄Cl₂ or Pd(NH₃)₂(OH)₂, Pd-carboxylates, and the like. For silver, inorganic salts can be used including Ag-nitrate ammine complexes, Ag-carboxylates and Ag-oxalate. For osmium, inorganic salts such as OsCl₃ can be used. For copper, inorganic salts such as Cu-carboxylates can be used.

For the production of metal oxide-containing electrocatalyst powders, including supported and unsupported metal oxides, a precursor to the metal oxide must be included in the precursor solution. For metal oxides, including oxides of Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Ni, Co, Rh, Ru, Fe, Mn, Cr, Mo, Re, W, Ta, Nb, V, Hf, Zr, Ti or Al, inorganic salts including nitrates, chlorides, hydroxides, halides, sulfates, phosphates, carboxylates, oxylates and carbonates can be used as precursors. Oxides of the metals can also be used as a precursor to a metal oxide in the final powder.

Particularly preferred metal oxide precursors include: K₂Cr₂O₇, Cr carboxylates and chromium oxalate for chrome oxide; KMnO₄, Mn-nitrate, Mn-acetate, Mn-carboxylates, Mn-alkoxides and MnO₂ for manganese oxide; Na₂WO₄ and W₂O₃, for tungsten oxide; K₂MoO₄ and MoO₂ for molybdenum oxide; Co-ammine complexes, Co-carboxylates and cobalt oxides for cobalt oxide; Ni-ammine complexes, Ni-carboxylates and nickel oxides, for nickel oxide; and Cu-ammine complexes, Cu-carboxylates and copper oxides for copper oxide.

For the production of composite powders having a carbon support phase, the precursor solution also includes at least one carbon precursor. The carbon precursor can be an organic precursor such as carboxylic acid, benzoic acid, polycarboxylic acids such as terephthalic, isophthalic, trimesic and trimellitic acids, or polynuclear carboxylic acids such as napthoic acid, or polynuclear polycarboxylic acids. Organic precursors can react by a mechanism such as: aM(NO₃)_(n) +b(C_(x)H_(y)O_(z))_(m)----->M_(a)C_(b)

The use of a liquid organic carbon precursor typically results in amorphous carbon, which is not desirable for most electrocatalyst applications. Preferably, the carbon support precursor is a dispersion of suspended carbon particles. The carbon particles can be suspended in water with additives, such as surfactants, to stabilize the suspension. The carbon particles used as the precursor are the primary particles which constitute the secondary support phase.

The carbon precursor particles preferably have a BET surface area of at least about 60 m²/g, more preferably at least about 250 m²/g, even more preferably at least about 600 m²/g and most preferably at least about 1300 m²/g. The surface area of the particulate carbon precursor strongly influences the surface area of the composite electrocatalyst powder, and therefore strongly influences the electrocatalytic activity of the composite powder.

The particulate carbon is small enough to be dispersed and suspended in the droplets generated from the liquid precursor. Therefore, the particulate carbon preferably has an average size of from about 10 to about 100 nanometers, more preferably from about 20 to about 40 nanometers. The carbon can be crystalline (graphitic), amorphous or a combination of different carbon types. The particles can also have a graphitic core with an amorphous surface or an amorphous core with a graphitic surface.

The surface characteristics of the primary particles making up the secondary structures can be varied. It is preferred that the surfaces before processing to form the final particles allow dispersion of the precursor particles into the precursor liquid. After processing to form the secondary structures, it is preferred that the surfaces have a controlled surface chemistry. Oxidized carbon surfaces can expose hydroxyl, carboxyl, aldehyde, and other functional groups which make the surface more hydrophilic. Reduced carbon surfaces terminate in hydrogen which promotes hydrophobicity. The ability to select the surface chemistry allows tailoring of the hydrophobicity of the surfaces, which in turn allows producing gradients in hydrophobicity within beds of deposited particles. Oxidized carbon surfaces also tend to be microetched, corresponding to higher surface areas while reduced carbon surfaces have lower surface areas. Oxidized carbon surfaces can be derivatized by reaction with various agents which allows coupling of various oxygen containing groups to the surface to further tailor the surface chemistry. This allows the addition of inorganic, organic, metal organic or organometallic compounds to the surface.

Among the convenient sources of dispersed carbon are commercially available carbon-based lubricants which are a suspension of fine carbon particles in an aqueous medium such as dispersed carbon black. Particularly preferred are acetylene carbon blacks having high chemical purity and good electrical conductivity. Examples of such carbon suspensions that are available commercially are GRAFO 1300 (Fuchs Lubricant, Co., Harvey, Ill.) which is a suspension of VULCAN XC-72 carbon black (Cabot Corp., Alpharetta, Ga.) having an average size of about 30 nanometers and a surface area of about 254 m²/g. Even more preferred are BLACKPEARLS 2000 (Cabot Corp., Alpharetta, Ga.) and KETJENBLACK (Akzo Nobel, Ltd., Amersfoort, Netherlands), each of which includes carbon having a specific surface area of from about 1300 to 1500 m²/g. Another preferred class of carbon materials are activated carbons which have a degree of catalytic activity. Examples include NORIT NK (Cabot Corp., Alpharetta, Ga.).

The precursors can be formed into an aerosol by a number of methods, as is discussed below. When ultrasonic atomization is used, the solids loading of carbon in the precursor solution should not be so high as to adversely affect aerosol generation and is preferably not greater than about 10 weight percent, more preferably not greater than about 5 weight percent. When a spray nozzle is used for aerosol generation, the solids loading of carbon is preferably not greater than about 20 weight percent. However, larger spray nozzles with high pressure lines can accommodate greater than about 40 weight percent solids.

It is preferable to mechanically dissociate larger aggregates of the carbon powders by using, for example, a blade grinder or other type of high-speed blade mill. Thus, dispersing the carbon powder in water preferably includes: 1) if not already provided in suspension, wetting of the carbon black powder by mixing a limited amount of the dry powder with a wetting agent and a soft surfactant; 2) diluting the initial heavy suspension with the remaining water and a basic surfactant diluted in the water; and 3) breaking secondary agglomerates by sonification of the liquid suspension in an ultrasonic bath.

The precursor to the metal or metal oxide active species, for example potassium permanganate, is preferably dissolved separately in water and added in an appropriate amount to a carbon suspension, prior to breaking the secondary agglomerates. Adding the metal salt in this manner advantageously facilitates breaking the larger agglomerates and the mixing results in a less viscous slurry. After sonification, the slurries are stable for several months without any apparent sedimentation or separation of the components.

Spray dryers are not commonly used for spray conversion wherein precursors to a material component are dried and reacted in one step. Nanometer-sized particles are difficult to produce in the presence of other particles while maintaining control of their dispersion on a support surface. Converting the precursors in a spray drier is possible according to the present invention due to the use of precursors and additives that decompose at a temperature of not greater than about 400° C., preferably not greater than about 300° C.

Low thermal decomposition temperature precursors that are useful at such low reaction temperatures according to the present invention to form metals include carboxylates, hydroxides, halides, nitrates, metal-organic complexes, amine adducts, isonitrile compounds, Schiff base complexes, b-diketonates, alkyls, phosphine complexes, phosphite complexes and carbonyl complexes of metals such as Ni, Ag, Pd, Pt, Rh, Sn, Cu, Au, Co, Ir, Ru and Os.

For metal oxides, useful low temperature precursors include oxocomplexes, alkoxides, amides, carboxylates, hydroxides, halides, nitrates, metal-organic complexes, amine adducts, isonitrile compounds, Schiff base complexes, b-diketonates, alkyls, phosphine complexes, phosphite complexes and carbonyl complexes of metals such as Sc, Y, La, lanthanides, Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Mn, Re, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ir and Sn.

When a metal is the active species phase, additives to ensure reduction to the metal at a low temperature can advantageously be used and will generally be soluble reducing agents and may either reduce the dissolved complex before spraying or during spraying. Preferably, the reducing agent will not substantially reduce the precursor at room temperature, but will cause reduction at an elevated temperature between about 100° C. and 400° C. These reducing agents should also be water stable and any volatile species that form from the reduction should be capable of being removed from the system. Examples include boranes, borane adducts (e.g., trimethylamineborane, BH₃NMe₃), silane derivatives, e.g., SiH_((4−x))R_(x) (where R=an organic group, aryl, alkyl, or functionalized alkyl or aryl group, polyether, alkyl carboxylate) borohydrides, e.g., NaBH₄, NH₄BH₄, MBH_((3−x))R_(x) (where R=an organic group, aryl, alkyl, or functionalized alkyl or aryl group, polyether, alkyl carboxylate). Others include alanes or tin hydrides.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, a reducing agent for Pt metal is selected from the group consisting of formic acid, formaldehyde, hydrazine and hydrazine salts. For example, an acidified solution of H₂Pt(OH)₆ in the presence of formic acid is stable at room temperature but is reduced to Pt metal at low reaction temperatures, such as about 100° C.

For a metal oxide as the active species phase, additives to ensure oxidation to the metal oxide at low temperature can also be used and will generally be soluble oxidizing agents and may either oxidize the dissolved complex before spraying or during spraying. Preferably, the oxidizing agent will not oxidize the precursor to the metal oxide at room temperature, but will cause reduction at elevated temperature between about 100° C. and 400° C. These species should also be water stable and form volatile species that can be removed from the system. Examples include amine oxides, e.g., trimethylamine-N-oxide (Me₃NO), oxidizing mineral acids such as nitric acid, sulfuric acid and aqua regia, oxidizing organic acids such as carboxylic acids, phosphine oxides hydrogen peroxide, ozone or sulfur oxides.

The precursor solution can include other additives such as surfactants, wetting agents, pH adjusters or the like. It is preferred to minimize the use of such additives, however, while maintaining good dispersion of the precursors. Excess surfactants, particularly high molecular weight surfactants, can remain on the electrocatalyst particle surface and degrade the catalytic activity if not fully removed.

Spray conversion or spray pyrolysis is a valuable processing method because the particles are raised to a high temperature for a short period of time. The relatively high temperature achieves conversion of the molecular precursor to the final desired phase, but the short time ensures little surface diffusion that can cause agglomeration of the nanometer-sized active phase. Hence, the support phase is formed with well dispersed nanometer sized active phase particles.

The liquid precursor is then atomized to form a suspension of droplets. The droplets in the suspension have a droplet size distribution that is determined by the characteristics of the atomizer. Preferred atomizers include single-fluid nozzles, two-fluid nozzles, ultrasonic nozzles and rotary wheel atomizers. Ultrasonic fountains can also be used. An example of an ultrasonic fountain generator and apparatus is disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/030,057, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Each of the foregoing aerosol generation methods produces particles with a characteristic size distribution, ejection velocity and spray pattern. The particle size is an important property to consider when selecting an atomization method. Properties such as final particle size, impaction efficiency, settling rate, heating rate and evaporation rate all depend on the precursor droplet size. Other factors to consider when selecting an atomizer include production rate, system orientation, processing temperature and precursor composition. For example, some precursor compositions cannot be economically atomized by ultrasonic methods.

Ultrasonic fountains and ultrasonic nozzles produce droplets by creating capillary waves on a liquid surface. The droplets are ejected from the bulk liquid with a slow velocity and a carrier gas is required to sweep the droplets away from the generation zone.

The manner in which the carrier gas is introduced to the system plays an important part in the droplet capture efficiency for both ultrasonic systems. For ultrasonic fountains, the carrier gas is introduced by either a point source close to the fountain or by sweeping the gas around the perimeter of the cone and removing the gas through a tube placed at a predetermined height above the liquid surface. For a point source, the dimension of the source hole should be appropriately sized to ensure that the gas captures the maximum number of particles per unit time. When gas is delivered to several locations via the same tube, the holes must be sized such that the flow rate is divided equally among the holes. In addition, the position of the source relative the height above the liquid level and transducer level must be selected such that the gas captures the maximum number of particles per unit time.

The gas flow rate also determines the number of droplets removed from the generation zone and delivered to the reactor per unit time. An increase in the carrier-gas flow rate usually results in an increase in the droplet removal rate. However a threshold gas flow rate exists beyond which the droplet removal rate reaches an asymptotic value or declines due to distortions in the fountain caused by the higher velocity gas. For ultrasonic fountains this optimum flow rate is on the order of about 5 slpm per transducer when delivered through ⅛″ or 3/32″ holes located within ½″ to 1″ of the center of the fountain. When the carrier gas is delivered concentrically and radially inward around the fountain, the droplets are entrained in the gas and removed via a “pick-up” tube situated directly above the fountain. The aerosol-laden stream is transported through the pickup tube and into the reactor. The height of the tube above the precursor liquid level must be adjusted along with the carrier gas flow rate to maximize droplet removal rates per unit time. Preferred tube heights above the liquid surface are between about 0.5 and 1.75 inches and preferred gas flow rates are between about 2.5 and 10 slpm. The diameter of the tube must be selected relative to the fountain dimensions to ensure adequate removal of the droplets and minimize aspiration and percolation of condensation on the inside diameter of the tube. For 20 mm diameter transducers operating at 1.6 MHz, the preferred tube inner diameter is between about 0.5 and 1 inch. For both point source and radial gas delivery, the actual optimum flow rates are material dependent.

Translating the concept of a radially-inward sweeping gas to multi-transducer configurations can be accomplished by one of two methods. Both methods incorporate the use of a gas distribution system and a gas focusing system. The purpose of the gas distribution system is to ensure that the carrier gas is distributed evenly among each transducer or gang of transducers. The focusing system focuses the carrier gas around the fountain(s) such that the droplet removal rate is maximized. An example of the focusing system is the pickup tube described above. The aerosol-laden carrier gas is transported through the pickup tube(s) or zones and the aerosol streams from each pickup zone are combined and transported to the reactor.

In the first method, an array of pickup tubes of optimum diameter can be arranged such that the center of each tube is aligned over an individual fountain (one tube for each fountain). The carrier gas is evenly distributed among the tubes to ensure each transducer has suitable conditions for droplet removal. The pickup tubes transport the aerosol streams to a zone where all streams are combined and delivered to the reactor. In this configuration, the pickup tube acts as the focusing device.

Another configuration allows groups of transducers to be used together in such a way that a large pickup channel or other design can focus gas around and remove droplets from the group of transducers. An example would be to align the transducers in a line and have a rectangular pickup channel positioned above the transducers such that the open interior of the rectangle is oriented above the group of fountains. The pickup channel acts as the focusing device and the carrier gas sweeps axially inward towards the centerline of the rectangle. Again, the height of the pickup channel above the fountains must be adjusted for maximum particle removal rates. The carrier gas must be evenly distributed so that each transducer experiences the conditions necessary for maximum particle removal rates.

Precursor temperature and transducer temperature have an effect on aerosol generation rate and transducer longevity in ultrasonic fountains. Preferably, the precursor fluid and transducer are maintained at a temperature of from about 25° C. to about 40° C. The distance between the transducer and the precursor liquid surface also influences the aerosol generation rate.

Ultrasonic fountains create a large number of droplets that are re-entrained into the bulk precursor fluid. These droplets lose water quickly and cause the bulk fluid to concentrate over time. This requires monitoring and adjustment of the solution to prevent the precursor concentration from changing over time. Typically, water is the only volatile component and a density measurement can be used to monitor the solution and make-up water can be used to re-adjust the solution concentration. More complex solutions may require monitoring of the pH and the addition of other components such as acids or bases.

Typically, ultrasonic fountains operating in the MHz frequency range produce smaller mean particle sizes with narrower particle size distributions compared to ultrasonic nozzles operating in the 100 KHz range and single- or two-fluid spray nozzles. However, ultrasonic fountains typically generate fewer droplets per unit time per device and are less efficient in terms of energy conversion than other systems. Ultrasonic nozzles, however, can atomize a wider variety of solutions more effectively than ultrasonic fountains.

Like ultrasonic fountains, ultrasonic nozzles atomize fluid by creating capillary waves on the surface of a liquid. The liquid is delivered to the vibrating tip where it is atomized, ejected from the surface and carried away from the surface by a carrier gas or by gravity. To transport the particles to the reactor, a carrier gas is passed through the generation zone at velocities that do not disrupt the atomization process.

Commercially available ultrasonic nozzles have frequencies ranging from tens of KHz to hundreds of KHz and have a variety of tip configurations selected according to the desired spray pattern. The lower frequencies allow for greater power input compared to ultrasonic fountains operating in the MHz range and thus a larger variety of materials can be atomized. However, lower frequencies produce larger particles than higher frequencies such that the ultrasonic nozzle is unsuitable for applications requiring a small particle size. Flow rates for ultrasonic nozzles are typically larger than ultrasonic fountains which make them quite attractive for applications requiring high volume without requiring a small droplet size.

Scale up of ultrasonic nozzles can be accomplished by using a unit rated for larger volumetric flow rates or by using multiple units. Larger units produce particles having similar size distributions as smaller units, provided the operating frequencies are similar.

Single-fluid and two-fluid nozzles create droplets from liquid jets sheared apart from forces generated at the gas-liquid interface. Whereas both rely on velocity differentials between the liquid and a gas, the single-fluid nozzle uses ambient air and high liquid velocities while the two-fluid nozzle uses a gas stream to create high gas velocities and pressures that shear the liquid jet stream into droplets. Because high velocity differentials are required to accomplish atomization, the resultant particles typically have high kinetic energy compared to ultrasonic techniques. Also, the trajectories of the particles can diverge greatly and the outer boundary of these spray patterns can be quite large requiring a larger reactor system in order to minimize particle losses on the walls.

The size distributions of particles produced by single- and two-fluid nozzles are typically larger than those produced by ultrasonic techniques. Droplet diameters can be on the order of about 40 μm to 60 μm. For horizontally-oriented systems, larger particles will settle out more quickly than smaller particles and therefore ultrasonic techniques may be advantageous for horizontal systems. However, the production rates of spray nozzles are typically higher and are thus a favorable means of atomization, provided that the reactor can reach the necessary temperatures and the nozzle can generate droplets having a desired size and size distribution. Also, spray nozzles can atomize a wider variety of precursors and at higher precursor concentrations, such as precursors with a high loading of particulate carbon.

Another advantage of spray nozzles is the simplicity of the design. Unlike ultrasonic methods, spray nozzles do not require electronic components to operate. Compressed gas and a pressurized liquid source are the only requirements. The mechanical components have few moving parts, minimizing the likelihood of breakdowns.

A two-fluid nozzle is illustrated in FIG. 1. The two fluid nozzle 100 includes a central aperture 102 for directing the liquid precursor into the chamber. Two outer apertures 104 and 106 direct a jet of air or other gas toward the liquid precursor stream as the liquid precursor is sprayed out of the central aperture 102. Atomization is accomplished by large shear forces that are generated when the low-velocity liquid stream encounters the high-velocity gas streams. The particle size characteristics of the aerosol are dependent on the flow rate of the gas.

After atomization, water is removed from the liquid droplets by evaporation. Preferably, the aerosol of liquid droplets is passed through a heating zone, such as a hot-wall reactor or a spray dryer to remove the liquid.

Hot-wall reactors transfer heat into the particle by maintaining a fixed wall temperature within the reaction zone. The carrier gas absorbs heat from the walls of the system until it reaches thermal equilibrium with the reactor walls. Energy transport must occur from the walls through the bulk of the gas, thus some component of convective heat transport within the gas is desirable as opposed to purely conductive transport. Horizontal hot-wall reactors have naturally occurring convective cells that are the result of buoyant forces generated within the reactor. However, highly turbulent systems may give rise to undesirable particle deposition and losses. Preferably, Reynolds numbers within the system should be between 300 and 2400 based on maximum wall temperature, Prandtl numbers should be between 0.6 and 0.8 and Grashof numbers should be between 1×10⁵ and 4×10⁷ based on gas inlet temperature and maximum wall temperature. Residence times within the reactor are preferably the order of from about 1.5 to 4 seconds.

The advantages of the hot-wall reactor include the ability to control the time/temperature history of the particle with greater precision over longer time intervals and the ability to achieve higher processing temperatures. The disadvantages of the hot-wall reactor include limited scalability due to thermal transport properties and equipment costs.

Spray dryers accomplish heat transfer by intimately mixing a hot gas stream with an aerosol stream. The time-temperature history of the particle is a function of the inlet temperatures of the inlet streams, the compositions of the inlet streams, the relative mass flow rates of the streams and the degree of mixing in the drying chamber. The outlet temperature can be calculated from a simple thermodynamic energy balance equating the energy change of two streams and solving for the equilibrium temperature. A spray dryer has the advantages of higher capacity, lower operating cost, less complex equipment and simple scalability.

Most commercial spray dryers are designed to accommodate temperatures on the order of 300° C. while modified spray dryers can achieve temperatures up to about 600° C. However, scale-up of modified systems can be cost prohibitive. Equipment downstream of the spray dryer can also impose temperature limitations on the outlet temperature of the system that will also limit the maximum conversion temperature. Typically, the maximum particle temperature is assumed to be the outlet temperature for co-current flow spray dryer configurations. Typical residence times within a spray dryer are on the order of tens of seconds.

The lower operating temperature of a spray dryer limits the ability to achieve the chemical reactions during spray conversion. In the present spray process, the temperature can be significantly higher, but if carbon is included as one of the phases, there is an upper temperature limit where the carbon will oxidize if an oxidizing environment such as air is used. The upper temperature limit will be higher for the present process because the residence time is shorter.

Atomizers useful with spray dryers include single-fluid and two-fluid nozzles and rotary Wheel atomizers. The preferred method for spray drying the particulate carbon-containing precursors of the present invention is a two-fluid nozzle. Rotary wheel atomizers accumulate dried material at the edge requiring frequent cleaning and intermittent operation. Single-fluid nozzles can be used but require higher liquid flow rates to achieve the same particle size distribution.

A spray dryer system that is useful according to the present invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 2. The spray dryer 200 includes a precursor feed line 202 for delivering liquid precursor to the drying chamber 204 and an atomizing gas line 203 for atomizing the liquid feed. The liquid precursor is dispersed into droplets through a spray nozzle 206, such as the two-fluid nozzle illustrated in FIG. 1. Drying air is introduced at the top of the chamber 204 through a hot gas inlet 208. The liquid droplets are dried and collected in a cyclone 212.

In the foregoing description of the basic components of a spray dryer, it should be noted that during spray drying the precursor mixture actually undergoes a chemical conversion. For example, a manganese precursor, such as potassium permanganate, is converted to manganese oxide. The final phase and oxidation state of manganese oxide are critical to the electrocatalytic activity of the resulting powder. Minor variations in reaction temperature and precursor composition can result in powders with different electrocatalytic activities.

It has been advantageously found according to the present invention that relatively low conversion temperatures can be used to obtain quality electrocatalyst powder. It is preferred that the reaction temperature is not greater than about 400° C., more preferably not greater than about 300° C. and even more preferably not greater than about 200° C. Further, it is preferred that the reaction temperature is at least about 100° C., preferably at least about 150° C. Increasing the reaction temperature to over 400° C. can remove excess surfactant which may remain on the powder and poison the oxide active sites. However, this is typically not necessary if the amount of surfactant in the precursor solution is low.

The process of the present invention is particularly well suited for the production of finely divided particles having a small weight average particle size. In addition to making particles within a desired range of weight average particle size, the particles may advantageously be produced with a narrow size distribution, thereby providing size uniformity that is desired for many applications. In addition, the method of the present invention provides significant flexibility for producing electrocatalyst particles of varying composition, crystallinity, morphology and microstructure.

Referring now to FIG. 3, one embodiment of the process of the present invention utilizing ultrasonic fountains is described. A liquid feed 102, including the precursor for the desired particles, and a carrier gas 104 are fed to an aerosol generator 106 where an aerosol 108 is produced. The aerosol 108 is then fed to a furnace 110 where liquid in the aerosol 108 is removed to produce particles 112 that are dispersed in and suspended by gas exiting the furnace 110. The particles 112 are then collected in a particle collector 114 to produce an electrocatalyst powder batch 116.

As used herein, the liquid feed 102 is a feed that includes a liquid as the major constituent, such that the feed is a flowable medium. The liquid feed 102 need not comprise only liquid constituents. The liquid feed 102 also include particulate material suspended in a liquid phase. The liquid feed 102 must, however, be capable of being atomized to form droplets of sufficiently small size for preparation of the aerosol 108. Therefore, if the liquid feed 102 includes suspended particles, such as suspended carbon particles, those particles should be relatively small in relation to the size of droplets in the aerosol 108, as is discussed in more detail hereinbelow.

Frequently, the precursor to one or more of the desired components will be a material, such as a salt, dissolved in a liquid solvent of the liquid feed 102. The precursor may undergo one or more chemical reactions in the furnace 110 to form the particles 112. Alternatively, the precursor material may contribute to formation of the particles 112 without undergoing a substantial chemical reaction. This could be the case, for example, when the liquid feed 102 includes, as a precursor material, suspended carbon particles that are not substantially chemically modified in the furnace 110. In any event, the particles 112 include at least one component originally contributed by the precursor. Preferred precursors in accordance with the present invention are discussed in more detail hereinbelow.

The carrier gas 104 may comprise any gaseous medium in which droplets produced from the liquid feed 102 may be dispersed in aerosol form. The carrier gas 104 may be inert, in that the carrier gas 104 does not participate in formation of the particles 112. Alternatively, the carrier gas may have one or more active components that contribute to formation of the particles 112 in the furnace 110. Preferred carrier gases according to the present invention are discussed in more detail hereinbelow.

The aerosol generator 106 atomizes the liquid feed 102 to form droplets in a manner to permit the carrier gas 104 to sweep the droplets away to form the aerosol 108. An important aspect of the present invention is generation of the aerosol 108 with droplets of a small average size and, preferably, a narrow size distribution. In this manner, the particles 112 may be produced at a desired small size with a narrow size distribution, which is advantageous for many applications.

The aerosol generator 106 is preferably capable of producing the aerosol 108 such that it includes droplets having a weight average size in a range having a lower limit of about 1 μm and preferably about 2 μm; and an upper limit of about 20 μm; preferably about 10 μm, more preferably about 7 μm and most preferably about 5 μm. The aerosol generator is also capable of producing the aerosol 108 such that it includes droplets having a narrow size distribution. Preferably, the droplets in the aerosol are such that at least about 70 percent of the droplets are smaller than about 10 μm and more preferably at least about 70 weight percent are smaller than about 5 μm. Furthermore, preferably no greater than about 30 weight percent, more preferably no greater than about 25 weight percent and most preferably no greater than about 20 weight percent, of the droplets in the aerosol 108 are larger than about twice the weight average droplet size.

Another important aspect of the present invention is that the aerosol 108 may be generated without consuming excessive amounts of the carrier gas 104. The aerosol generator 106 is capable of producing the aerosol 108 such that it has a high loading, or high concentration, of the liquid feed 102 in droplet form. The capability of the aerosol generator 106 to produce a heavily loaded aerosol 108 is surprising given the high droplet output rate of which the aerosol generator 106 is capable, as is discussed more fully below.

The furnace 110, or hot wall reactor, may be any device suitable for heating the aerosol 108 to evaporate liquid from the droplets of the aerosol 108 and thereby form the particles 112. The maximum average stream temperature, or conversion temperature, refers to the maximum average temperature that an aerosol stream attains while flowing through the furnace. This is typically determined by a temperature probe inserted into the furnace. Preferred conversion temperatures according to the present invention are discussed more fully below.

Although longer residence times are possible, for many applications, residence time in the heating zone of the furnace 110 of shorter than about 4 seconds is typical, with shorter than about 2 seconds being preferred, shorter than about 1 second being more preferred, shorter than about 0.5 second being even more preferred, and shorter than about 0.2 second being most preferred. The residence time should be long enough, however, to assure that the particles 112 attain the desired maximum stream temperature for a given heat transfer rate. In that regard, with extremely short residence times, higher furnace temperatures could be used to increase the rate of heat transfer so long as the particles 112 attain a maximum temperature within the desired stream temperature range.

Typically, the furnace 110 will be a tube-shaped furnace, so that the aerosol 108 moving into and through the furnace does not encounter sharp edges on which droplets could collect. Loss of droplets to collection at sharp surfaces results in a lower yield of particles 112. Further, the accumulation of liquid at sharp edges can result in re-release of undesirably large droplets back into the aerosol 108, which can cause contamination of the particulate product 116 with undesirably large particles. Also, over time, such liquid collection at sharp surfaces can cause fouling of process equipment, impairing process performance.

The furnace 110 may include a heating tube made of any suitable material. The tube material may be a ceramic material, for example, mullite, silica or alumina. Quartz tubes can also be advantageous. Preferably, the tube is metallic. Advantages of using a metallic tube are low cost, ability to withstand steep temperature gradients and large thermal shocks, machinability and weldability, and ease of providing a seal between the tube and other process equipment. Disadvantages of using a metallic tube include limited operating temperature and increased reactivity in some reaction systems.

When a metallic tube is used in the furnace 110, it is preferably a high nickel content stainless steel alloy, such as a 330 stainless steel, or a nickel-based super alloy. As noted, one of the major advantages of using a metallic tube is that the tube is relatively easy to seal with other process equipment. Flange fittings may be welded directly to the tube for connecting with other process equipment. Metallic tubes are generally preferred for making particles that do not require a maximum tube wall temperature of higher than about 1100° C. during particle manufacture, such as the electrocatalyst particles of the present invention.

Also, although the present invention is described with primary reference to a furnace reactor, which is preferred, it should be recognized that, except as noted, any other thermal reactor, including a flame reactor or a plasma reactor, could be used. A furnace reactor is preferred because of the generally even heating characteristic of a furnace for attaining a uniform stream temperature.

The particle collector 114, may be any suitable apparatus for collecting particles 112 to produce the particulate product 116. One preferred embodiment of the particle collector 114 uses one or more filter to separate the particles 112 from the gas. Such a filter may be of any type, including a bag filter. Another preferred embodiment of the particle collector uses one or more cyclone to separate the particles 112. Other apparatus that may be used in the particle collector 114 includes an electrostatic precipitator. Particle collection should normally occur at a temperature above the condensation temperature of the gas stream in which the particles 112 are suspended. Further, collection should normally be at a temperature that is low enough to prevent significant agglomeration of the particles 112.

Of significant importance to the operation of the process of the present invention is the aerosol generator 106, which must be capable of producing a high quality aerosol with high droplet loading, as previously noted. With reference to FIG. 4, one embodiment of an aerosol generator 106 of the present invention is described. The aerosol generator 106 includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducer discs 120 that are each mounted in a transducer housing 122. The transducer housings 122 are mounted to a transducer mounting plate 124, creating an array of the ultrasonic transducer discs 120. Any convenient spacing may be used for the ultrasonic transducer discs 120. Center-to-center spacing of the ultrasonic transducer discs 120 of about 4 centimeters is often adequate. The aerosol generator 106, as shown in FIG. 4, includes forty-nine transducers in a 7×7 array. The array configuration is as shown in FIG. 5, which depicts the locations of the transducer housings 122 mounted to the transducer mounting plate 124.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, a separator 126, in spaced relation to the transducer discs 120, is retained between a bottom retaining plate 128 and a top retaining plate 130. Gas delivery tubes 132 are connected to gas distribution manifolds 134, which have gas delivery ports 136. The gas distribution manifolds 134 are housed within a generator body 138 that is covered by generator lid 140. A transducer driver 144, having circuitry for driving the transducer discs 120, is electronically connected with the transducer discs 120 via electrical cables 146.

During operation of the aerosol generator 106, as shown in FIG. 4, the transducer discs 120 are activated by the transducer driver 144 via the electrical cables 146. The transducers preferably vibrate at a frequency of from about 1 MHz to about 5 MHz, more preferably from about 1.5 MHz to about 3 MHz. Frequently used frequencies are at about 1.6 MHz and about 2.4 MHz. Furthermore, all of the transducer discs 110 should be operating at substantially the same frequency when an aerosol with a narrow droplet size distribution is desired. This is important because commercially available transducers can vary significantly in thickness, sometimes by as much as 10%, resulting in deviations in the operating frequencies. It is preferred, however, that the transducer discs 120 operate at frequencies within a range of 5% above and below the median transducer frequency, more preferably within a range of 2.5%, and most preferably within a range of 1%. This can be accomplished by careful selection of the transducer discs 120 so that they all preferably have thicknesses within 5% of the median transducer thickness, more preferably within 2.5%, and most preferably within 1%.

Liquid feed 102 enters through a feed inlet 148 and flows through flow channels 150 to exit through feed outlet 152. An ultrasonically transmissive fluid, typically water, enters through a water inlet 154 to fill a water bath volume 156 and flow through flow channels 158 to exit through a water outlet 160. A proper flow rate of the ultrasonically transmissive fluid is necessary to cool the transducer discs 120 and to prevent overheating of the ultrasonically transmissive fluid. Ultrasonic signals from the transducer discs 120 are transmitted, via the ultrasonically transmissive fluid, across the water bath volume 156, and ultimately across the separator 126, to the liquid feed 102 in flow channels 150.

The ultrasonic signals from the ultrasonic transducer discs 120 cause atomization cones 162 to develop in the liquid feed 102 at locations corresponding with the transducer discs 120. Carrier gas 104 is introduced into the gas delivery tubes 132 and delivered to the vicinity of the atomization cones 162 via gas delivery ports 136. Jets of carrier gas exit the gas delivery ports 136 in a direction so as to impinge on the atomization cones 162, thereby sweeping away atomized droplets of the liquid feed 102 that are being generated from the atomization cones 162 and creating the aerosol 108, which exits the aerosol generator 106 through an aerosol exit opening 164.

Efficient use of the carrier gas 104 is an important aspect of the aerosol generator 106. The embodiment of the aerosol generator 106 shown in FIG. 4 includes two gas exit ports per atomization cone 162, with the gas ports being positioned above the liquid medium 102 over troughs that develop between the atomization cones 162, such that the exiting carrier gas 104 is horizontally directed at the surface of the atomization cones 162, thereby efficiently distributing the carrier gas 104 to critical portions of the liquid feed 102 for effective and efficient sweeping away of droplets as they form about the ultrasonically energized atomization cones 162. Furthermore, it is preferred that at least a portion of the opening of each of the gas delivery ports 136, through which the carrier gas exits the gas delivery tubes, should be located below the top of the atomization cones 162 at which the carrier gas 104 is directed. This relative placement of the gas delivery ports 136 is very important to efficient use of carrier gas 104. Orientation of the gas delivery ports 136 is also important. Preferably, the gas delivery ports 136 are positioned to horizontally direct jets of the carrier gas 104 at the atomization cones 162. The aerosol generator 106 permits generation of the aerosol 108 with heavy loading with droplets of the carrier liquid 102, unlike aerosol generator designs that do not efficiently focus gas delivery to the locations of droplet formation.

Another important feature of the aerosol generator 106, as shown in FIG. 4, is the use of the separator 126, which protects the transducer discs 120 from direct contact with the liquid feed 102, which is often highly corrosive. The height of the separator 126 above the top of the transducer discs 120 should normally be kept as small as possible, and is often in the range of from about 1 centimeter to about 2 centimeters. The top of the liquid feed 102 in the flow channels above the tops of the ultrasonic transducer discs 120 is typically in a range of from about 2 centimeters to about 5 centimeters, whether or not the aerosol generator includes the separator 126, with a distance of about 3 to 4 centimeters being preferred. Although the aerosol generator 106 could be made without the separator 126, in which case the liquid feed 102 would be in direct contact with the transducer discs 120, the highly corrosive nature of the liquid feed 102 can often cause premature failure of the transducer discs 120. The use of the separator 126, in combination with use of the ultrasonically transmissive fluid in the water bath volume 156 to provide ultrasonic coupling, significantly extends the life of the ultrasonic transducers 120. One disadvantage of using the separator 126, however, is that the rate of droplet production from the atomization cones 162 is reduced, often by a factor of two or more, relative to designs in which the liquid feed 102 is in direct contact with the ultrasonic transducer discs 102. Even with the separator 126, however, the aerosol generator 106 used with the present invention is capable of producing a high quality aerosol with heavy droplet loading, as previously discussed. Suitable materials for the separator 126 include, for example, polyamides (such as Kapton™ membranes from DuPont) and other polymer materials, glass, and plexiglass. The main requirements for the separator 126 are that it be ultrasonically transmissive, corrosion resistant and impermeable.

One alternative to using the separator 126 is to bind a corrosion-resistant protective coating onto the surface of the ultrasonic transducer discs 120, thereby preventing the liquid feed 102 from contacting the surface of the ultrasonic transducer discs 120. When the ultrasonic transducer discs 120 have a protective coating, the aerosol generator 106 will typically be constructed without the water bath volume 156 and the liquid feed 102 will flow directly over the ultrasonic transducer discs 120. Examples of such protective coating materials include platinum, gold, TEFLON™, epoxies and various plastics. Such coating typically significantly extends transducer life. Also, when operating without the separator 126, the aerosol generator 106 will typically produce the aerosol 108 with a much higher droplet loading than when the separator 126 is used.

One surprising finding with operation of the aerosol generator 106 of the present invention is that the droplet loading in the aerosol may be affected by the temperature of the liquid feed 102. It has been found that when the liquid feed 102 includes an aqueous liquid at an elevated temperature, the droplet loading increases significantly. The temperature of the liquid feed 102 is preferably higher than about 30° C., more preferably higher than about 35° C. and most preferably higher than about 40° C. If the temperature becomes too high, however, it can have a detrimental effect on droplet loading in the aerosol 108. Therefore, the temperature of the liquid feed 102 from which the aerosol 108 is made should generally be lower than about 50° C., and preferably lower than about 45° C. The liquid feed 102 may be maintained at the desired temperature in any suitable fashion. For example, the portion of the aerosol generator 106 where the liquid feed 102 is converted to the aerosol 108 could be maintained at a constant elevated temperature Alternatively, the liquid feed 102 could be delivered to the aerosol generator 106 from a constant temperature bath maintained separate from the aerosol generator 106. When the ultrasonic generator 106 includes the separator 126, the ultrasonically transmissive fluid adjacent the ultrasonic transducer discs 120 are preferably also at an elevated temperature in the ranges discussed for the liquid feed 102.

The design for the aerosol generator 106 based on an array of ultrasonic transducers is versatile and is easily modified to accommodate different generator sizes for different applications. The aerosol generator 106 may be designed to include a plurality of ultrasonic transducers in any convenient number. Even for smaller scale production, however, the aerosol generator 106 preferably has at least nine ultrasonic transducers, more preferably at least 16 ultrasonic transducers, and even more preferably at least 25 ultrasonic transducers. For larger scale production, however, the aerosol generator 106 includes at least 40 ultrasonic transducers, more preferably at least 100 ultrasonic transducers, and even more preferably at least 400 ultrasonic transducers. In some large volume applications, the aerosol generator may have at least 1000 ultrasonic transducers.

FIGS. 6–23 show component designs for an aerosol generator 106 including an array of 400 ultrasonic transducers. Referring first to FIGS. 6 and 7, the transducer mounting plate 124 is shown with a design to accommodate an array of 400 ultrasonic transducers, arranged in four subarrays 170 of 100 ultrasonic transducers each. The transducer mounting plate 124 has integral vertical walls 172 for containing the ultrasonically transmissive fluid, typically water, in a water bath similar to the water bath volume 156 described previously with reference to FIG. 4.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, four hundred transducer mounting receptacles 174 are provided in the transducer mounting plate 124 for mounting ultrasonic transducers for the desired array. With reference to FIG. 8 the profile of an individual transducer mounting receptacle 174 is shown. A mounting seat 176 accepts an ultrasonic transducer for mounting, with a mounted ultrasonic transducer being held in place via screw holes 178. Opposite the mounting receptacle 176 is a flared opening 180 through which an ultrasonic signal may be transmitted for the purpose of generating the aerosol 108, as previously described with reference to FIG. 4.

A preferred transducer mounting configuration, however, is shown in FIG. 9 for another configuration for the transducer mounting plate 124. As illustrated in FIG. 9, an ultrasonic transducer disc 120 is mounted to the transducer mounting plate 124 by use of a compression screw 177 threaded into a threaded receptacle 179. The compression screw 177 bears against the ultrasonic transducer disc 120, causing an o-ring 181, situated in an o-ring seat 182 on the transducer mounting plate, to be compressed to form a seal between the transducer mounting plate 124 and the ultrasonic transducer disc 120. This type of transducer mounting is particularly preferred when the ultrasonic transducer disc 120 includes a protective surface coating, as discussed previously, because the seal of the o-ring to the ultrasonic transducer disc 120 will be inside of the outer edge of the protective seal, thereby preventing liquid from penetrating under the protective surface coating from the edges of the ultrasonic transducer disc 120.

Referring now to FIG. 10, the bottom retaining plate 128 for a 400 transducer array is shown having a design for mating with the transducer mounting plate 124 (shown in FIGS. 6–7). The bottom retaining plate 128 has eighty openings 184, arranged in four subgroups 186 of twenty openings 184 each. Each of the openings 184 corresponds with five of the transducer mounting receptacles 174 (shown in FIGS. 6 and 7) when the bottom retaining plate 128 is mated with the transducer mounting plate 124 to create a volume for a water bath between the transducer mounting plate 124 and the bottom retaining plate 128. The openings 184, therefore, provide a pathway for ultrasonic signals generated by ultrasonic transducers to be transmitted through the bottom retaining plate.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, a liquid feed box 190 for a 400 transducer array is shown having the top retaining plate 130 designed to fit over the bottom retaining plate 128 (shown in FIG. 10), with a separator 126 (not shown) being retained between the bottom retaining plate 128 and the top retaining plate 130 when the aerosol generator 106 is assembled. The liquid feed box 190 also includes vertically extending walls 192 for containing the liquid feed 102 when the aerosol generator is in operation. Also shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is the feed inlet 148 and the feed outlet 152. An adjustable weir 198 determines the level of liquid feed 102 in the liquid feed box 190 during operation of the aerosol generator 106.

The top retaining plate 130 of the liquid feed box 190 has eighty openings 194 therethrough, which are arranged in four subgroups 196 of twenty openings 194 each. The openings 194 of the top retaining plate 130 correspond in size with the openings 184 of the bottom retaining plate 128 (shown in FIG. 10). When the aerosol generator 106 is assembled, the openings 194 through the top retaining plate 130 and the openings 184. through the bottom retaining plate 128 are aligned, with the separator 126 positioned therebetween, to permit transmission of ultrasonic signals when the aerosol generator 106 is in operation.

Referring now to FIGS. 11–13, a plurality of gas tube feed-through holes 202 extend through the vertically extending walls 192 to either side of the assembly including the feed inlet 148 and feed outlet 152 of the liquid feed box 190. The gas tube feed-through holes 202 are designed to permit insertion therethrough of gas tubes 208 of a design as shown in FIG. 13. When the aerosol generator 106 is assembled, a gas tube 208 is inserted through each of the gas tube feed-through holes 202 so that gas delivery ports 136 in the gas tube 208 will be properly positioned and aligned adjacent the openings 194 in the top retaining plate 130 for delivery of gas to atomization cones that develop in the liquid feed box 190 during operation of the aerosol generator 106. The gas delivery ports 136 are typically holes having a diameter of from about 1.5 millimeters to about 3.5 millimeters.

Referring now to FIG. 14, a partial view of the liquid feed box 190 is shown with gas tubes 208A, 208B and 208C positioned adjacent to the openings 194 through the top retaining plate 130. Also shown in FIG. 14 are the relative locations that ultrasonic transducer discs 120 would occupy when the aerosol generator 106 is assembled. As seen in FIG. 14, the gas tube 208A, which is at the edge of the array, has five gas delivery ports 136. Each of the gas delivery ports 136 is positioned to divert carrier gas 104 to a different one of atomization cones that develop over the array of ultrasonic transducer discs 120 when the aerosol generator 106 is operating. The gas tube 208B, which is one row in from the edge of the array, is a shorter tube that has ten gas delivery ports 136, five each on opposing sides of the gas tube 208B. The gas tube 208B, therefore, has gas delivery ports 136 for delivering gas to atomization cones corresponding with each of ten ultrasonic transducer discs 120. The third gas tube, 208C, is a longer tube that also has ten gas delivery ports 136 for delivering gas to atomization cones corresponding with ten ultrasonic transducer discs 120. The design shown in FIG. 14, therefore, includes one gas delivery port per ultrasonic transducer disc 120. Although this is a lower density of gas delivery ports 136 than for the embodiment of the aerosol generator 106 shown in FIG. 4, which includes two gas delivery ports per ultrasonic transducer disc 120, the design shown in FIG. 14 is, nevertheless, capable of producing a dense, high-quality aerosol without unnecessary waste of gas.

Referring now to FIG. 15, the flow of carrier gas 104 relative to atomization cones 162 during operation of the aerosol generator 106 having a gas distribution configuration to deliver carrier gas 104 from gas delivery ports on both sides of the gas tubes 208, as was shown for the gas tubes 208A, 208B and 208C in the gas distribution configuration shown in FIG. 13. The carrier gas 104 sweeps both directions from each of the gas tubes 208.

An alternative, and preferred, flow for carrier gas 104 is shown in FIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, carrier gas 104 is delivered from only one side of each of the gas tubes 208. This results in a sweep of carrier gas from all of the gas tubes 208 toward a central area 212. This results in a more uniform flow pattern for aerosol generation that may significantly enhance the efficiency with which the carrier gas 104 is used to produce an aerosol. The aerosol that is generated, therefore, tends to be more heavily loaded with liquid droplets.

Another configuration for distributing carrier gas in the aerosol generator 106 is shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. In this configuration, the gas tubes 208 are hung from a gas distribution plate 216 adjacent gas flow holes 218 through the gas distribution plate 216. In the aerosol generator. 106, the gas distribution plate 216 would be mounted above the liquid feed, with the gas flow holes positioned to each correspond with an underlying ultrasonic transducer. Referring specifically to FIG. 18, when the ultrasonic generator 106 is in operation, atomization cones 162 develop through the gas flow holes 218, and the gas tubes 208 are located such that carrier gas 104 exiting from ports in the gas tubes 208 impinge on the atomization cones and flow upward through the gas flow holes. The gas flow holes 218, therefore, act to assist in efficiently distributing the carrier gas 104 about the atomization cones 162 for aerosol formation. It should be appreciated that the gas distribution plates 218 can be made to accommodate any number of the gas tubes 208 and gas flow holes 218. For convenience of illustration, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17 and 21 shows a design having only two of the gas tubes 208 and only 16 of the gas flow holes 218. Also, it should be appreciated that the gas distribution plate 216 could be used alone, without the gas tubes 208. In that case, a slight positive pressure of carrier gas 104 would be maintained under the gas distribution plate 216 and the gas flow holes 218 would be sized to maintain the proper velocity of carrier gas 104 through the gas flow holes 218 for efficient aerosol generation. Because of the relative complexity of operating in that mode however, it is not preferred.

Aerosol generation may also be enhanced through mounting of ultrasonic transducers at a slight angle and directing the carrier gas at resulting atomization cones such that the atomization cones are tilting in the same direction as the direction of flow of carrier gas. Referring to FIG. 19, an ultrasonic transducer disc 120 is shown. The ultrasonic transducer disc 120 is tilted at a tilt angle 114 (typically less than 10 degrees), so that the atomization cone 162 will also have a tilt. It is preferred that the direction of flow of the carrier gas 104 directed at the atomization cone 162 is in the same direction as the tilt of the atomization cone 162.

Referring now to FIGS. 20 and 21, a gas manifold 220 is shown for distributing gas to the gas tubes 208 in a 400 transducer array design. The gas manifold 220 includes a gas distribution box 222 and piping stubs 224 for connection with gas tubes 208 (shown in FIG. 13). Inside the gas distribution box 222 are two gas distribution plates 226 that form a flow path to assist in distributing the gas equally throughout the gas distribution box 222, to promote substantially equal delivery of gas through the piping stubs 224. The gas manifold 220, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, is designed to feed eleven gas tubes 208. For the 400 transducer design, a total of four gas manifolds 220 are required.

Referring now to FIGS. 22 and 23, the generator lid 140 is shown for a 400 transducer array design. The generator lid 140 mates with and covers the liquid feed box 190 (shown in FIGS. 11 and 12). The generator lid 140, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, has a hood design to permit easy collection of the aerosol 108 without subjecting droplets in the aerosol 108 to sharp edges on which droplets may coalesce and be lost, and possibly interfere with the proper operation of the aerosol generator 106. When the aerosol generator 106 is in operation, the aerosol 108 would be withdrawn via the aerosol exit opening 164 through the generator cover 140.

It is important that the aerosol stream fed to the furnace 110 have a high droplet flow rate and high droplet loading as would be required for most industrial applications. With the present invention, the aerosol stream fed to the furnace preferably includes a droplet flow of greater than about 0.5 liters per hour, more preferably greater than about 2 liters per hour, still more preferably greater than about 5 liters per hour, even more preferably greater than about 10 liters per hour, particularly greater than about 50 liters per hour and most preferably greater than about 100 liters per hour; and with the droplet loading being typically greater than about 0.04 milliliters of droplets per liter of carrier gas, preferably greater than about 0.083 milliliters of droplets per liter of carrier gas 104, more preferably greater than about 0.167 milliliters of droplets per liter of carrier gas 104, still more preferably greater than about 0.25 milliliters of droplets per liter of carrier gas 104, particularly greater than about 0.33 milliliters of droplets per liter of carrier gas 104 and most preferably greater than about 0.83 milliliters of droplets per liter of carrier gas 104.

As discussed previously, the aerosol generator 106 of the present invention produces a concentrated, high quality aerosol of micro-sized droplets having a relatively narrow size distribution. It has been found, however, that for many applications the process of the present invention can be enhanced by further classifying by size the droplets in the aerosol 108 prior to introduction of the droplets into the furnace 110. In this manner, the size and size distribution of particles in the particulate product 116 are further controlled.

Referring now to FIG. 24, a process flow diagram is shown for one embodiment of the process of the present invention including such droplet classification. As shown in FIG. 24, the aerosol 108 from the aerosol generator 106 goes to a droplet classifier 280 where oversized droplets are removed from the aerosol 108 to prepare a classified aerosol 282. Liquid 284 from the oversized droplets that are being removed is drained from the droplet classifier 280. This drained liquid 284 may advantageously be recycled for use in preparing additional liquid feed 102.

Any suitable droplet classifier may be used for removing droplets above a predetermined size. For example, a cyclone could be used to remove over-size droplets. A preferred droplet classifier for many applications, however, is an impactor. One embodiment of an impactor for use with the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 25–29.

As seen in FIG. 25, an impactor 288 has disposed in a flow conduit 286 a flow control plate 290 and an impactor plate assembly 292. The flow control plate 290 is conveniently mounted on a mounting plate 294.

The flow control plate 290 is used to channel the flow of the aerosol stream toward the impactor plate assembly 292 in a manner with controlled flow characteristics that are desirable for proper impaction of oversize droplets on the impactor plate assembly 292 for removal through the drains 296 and 314. One embodiment of the flow control plate 290 is shown in FIG. 26. The flow control plate 290 has an array of circular flow ports 296 for channeling flow of the aerosol 108 towards the impactor plate assembly 292 with the desired flow characteristics.

Details of the mounting plate 294 are shown in FIG. 27. The mounting plate 294 has a mounting flange 298 with a large diameter flow opening 300 passing therethrough to permit access of the aerosol 108 to the flow ports 296 of the flow control plate 290 (shown in FIG. 26).

Referring now to FIGS. 28 and 29, one embodiment of an impactor plate assembly 292 is shown. The impactor plate assembly 292 includes an impactor plate 302 and mounting brackets 304 and 306 used to mount the impactor plate 302 inside of the flow conduit 286. The impactor plate 302 and the flow channel plate 290 are designed so that droplets larger than a predetermined size will have momentum that is too large for those particles to change flow direction to navigate around the impactor plate 302.

During operation of the impactor 288, the aerosol 108 from the aerosol generator 106 passes through the upstream flow control plate 290. Most of the droplets in the aerosol navigate around the impactor plate 302 and exit the impactor 288 through the downstream flow control plate 290 in the classified aerosol 282. Droplets in the aerosol 108 that are too large to navigate around the impactor plate 302 will impact on the impactor plate 302 and drain through the drain 296 to be collected with the drained liquid 284 (as shown in FIG. 25).

The configuration of the impactor plate 302 shown in FIG. 24 represents only one of many possible configurations for the impactor plate 302. For example, the impactor 288 could include an upstream flow control plate 290 having vertically extending flow slits therethrough that are offset from vertically extending flow slits through the impactor plate 302, such that droplets too large to navigate the change in flow due to the offset of the flow slits between the flow control plate 290 and the impactor plate 302 would impact on the impactor plate 302 to be drained away.

The classification size, also called the classification cut point, is that size at which half of the droplets of that size are removed and half of the droplets of that size are retained. Depending upon the specific application the droplet classification size may be varied, such as by changing the spacing between the impactor plate 302 and the flow control plate 290 or increasing or decreasing aerosol velocity through the jets in the flow control plate 290. Minimizing the removal of liquid feed 102 from the aerosol 108 is particularly important for commercial applications to increase the yield of high quality particulate product 116. It should be noted that because of the superior performance of the aerosol generator 106, it is typically not required to use an impactor or other droplet classifier to obtain a suitable aerosol. This is a major advantage, because the added complexity and liquid losses accompanying use of an impactor may often be avoided with the process of the present invention.

With some applications of the process of the present invention, it may be possible to collect the particles 112 directly from the output of the furnace 110. More often, however, it will be desirable to cool the particles 112 exiting the furnace 110 prior to collection of the particles 112 in the particle collector 114. Referring now to FIG. 30, one embodiment of the process of the present invention is shown in which the particles 112 exiting the furnace 110 are sent to a particle cooler 320 to produce a cooled particle stream 322, which is then fed to the particle collector 114. According to the present invention, a gas quench apparatus is provided for use as the particle cooler 320 that significantly reduces thermophoretic losses compared to a traditional heat exchanger.

Referring now to FIGS. 31–33, one embodiment of a gas quench cooler 330 is shown. The gas quench cooler includes a perforated conduit 332 housed inside of a cooler housing 334 with an annular space 336 located between the cooler housing 334 and the perforated conduit 332. In fluid communication with the annular space 336 is a quench gas inlet box 338, inside of which is disposed a portion of an aerosol outlet conduit 340. The perforated conduit 332 extends between the aerosol outlet conduit 340 and an aerosol inlet conduit 342. Attached to an opening into the quench gas inlet box 338 are two quench gas feed tubes 344. Referring specifically to FIG. 33, the perforated tube 332 is shown. The perforated tube 332 has a plurality of openings 345. The openings 345, when the perforated conduit 332 is assembled into the gas quench cooler 330, permit the flow of quench gas 346 from the annular space 336 into the interior space 348 of the perforated conduit 332. Although the openings 345 are shown as being round holes, any shape of opening could be used, such as slits. Also, the perforated conduit 332 could be a porous screen. Two heat radiation shields 347 prevent downstream radiant heating from the furnace. In most instances, however, it will not be necessary to include the heat radiation shields 347, because downstream radiant heating from the furnace is normally not a significant problem. Use of the heat radiation shields 347 is not preferred due to particulate losses that accompany their use.

With continued reference to FIGS. 31–33, operation of the gas quench cooler 330 will now be described. During operation, the particles 112, carried by and dispersed in a gas stream, enter the gas quench cooler 330 through the aerosol inlet conduit 342 and flow into the interior space 348 of perforated conduit 332. Quench gas 346 is introduced Through the quench gas feed tubes 344 into the quench gas inlet box 338. Quench gas 346 entering the quench gas inlet box 338 encounters the outer surface of the aerosol outlet conduit 340, forcing the quench gas 346 to flow, in a spiraling, swirling manner, into the annular space 336, where the quench gas 346 flows through the openings 345 through the walls of the perforated conduit 332. Preferably, the gas 346 retains some swirling motion even after passing into the interior space 348. In this way, the particles 112 are quickly cooled with low losses of particles to the walls of the gas quench cooler 330. In this manner, the quench gas 346 enters in a radial direction into the interior space 348 of the perforated conduit 332 around the entire periphery, or circumference, of the perforated conduit 332 and over the entire length of the perforated conduit 332. The cool quench gas 346 mixes with and cools the hot particles 112, which then exit through the aerosol outlet conduit 340 as the cooled particle stream 322. The cooled particle stream 322 can then be sent to the particle collector 114 for particle collection. The temperature of the cooled particle stream 322 is controlled by introducing more or less quench gas.

Also, as shown in FIG. 32, the quench gas 346 is fed into the quench cooler 330 in counter flow to flow of the particles. Alternatively, the quench cooler could be designed so that the quench gas 346 is fed into the quench cooler in concurrent flow with the flow of the particles 112. The amount of quench gas 346 fed to the gas quench cooler 330 will depend upon the specific material being made and the specific operating conditions. The quantity of quench gas 346 used, however, must be sufficient to reduce the temperature of the aerosol steam including the particles 112 to the desired temperature. Typically, the particles 112 are cooled to a temperature at least below about 200° C., and often lower. The only limitation on how much the particles 112 are cooled is that the cooled particle stream 322 must be at a temperature that is above the condensation temperature for water as another condensable vapor in the stream. The temperature of the cooled particle stream 322 is often at a temperature of from about 50° C. to about 120° C.

Because of the entry of quench gas 346 into the interior space 348 of the perforated conduit 322 in a radial direction about the entire circumference and length of the perforated conduit 322, a buffer of the cool quench gas 346 is formed about the inner wall of the perforated conduit 332, thereby significantly inhibiting the loss of hot particles 112 due to thermophoretic deposition on the cool wall of the perforated conduit 332. In operation, the quench gas 346 exiting the openings 345 and entering into the interior space 348 should have a radial velocity (velocity inward toward the center of the circular cross-section of the perforated conduit 332) of larger than the thermophoretic velocity of the particles 112 inside the perforated conduit 332 in a direction radially outward toward the perforated wall of the perforated conduit 332.

As seen in FIGS. 31–33, the gas quench cooler 330 includes a flow path for the particles 112 through the gas quench cooler of a substantially constant cross-sectional shape and area. Preferably, the flow path through the gas quench cooler 330 will have the same cross-sectional shape and area as the flow path through the furnace 110 and through the conduit delivering the aerosol 108 from the aerosol generator 106 to the furnace 110. In one embodiment, however, it may be necessary to reduce the cross-sectional area available for flow prior to the particle collector 114. This is the case, for example, when the particle collector includes a cyclone for separating particles in the cooled particle stream 322 from gas in the cooled particle stream 322. This is because of the high inlet velocity requirements into cyclone separators.

Referring now to FIG. 34, one embodiment of the gas quench cooler 330 is shown in combination with a cyclone separator 392. The perforated conduit 332 has a continuously decreasing cross-sectional area for flow to increase the velocity of flow to the proper value for the feed to cyclone separator 392. Attached to the cyclone separator 392 is a bag filter 394 for final clean-up of overflow from the cyclone separator 392. Separated particles exit with underflow from the cyclone separator 392 and may be collected in any convenient container. The use of cyclone separation is particularly preferred for powder having a weight average size of larger than about 1 μm, although a series of cyclones may sometimes be needed to obtain the desired degree of separation. Cyclone separation is particularly preferred for powders having a weight average size of larger than about 1.5 μm.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, following preparation of the particles 112 in the furnace 110, the particles 112 may then be structurally modified to impart desired physical properties prior to particle collection. Referring now to FIG. 35, one embodiment of the process of the present invention is shown including such structural particle modification. The particles 112 exiting the furnace 110 go to a particle modifier 360 where the particles are structurally modified to form modified particles 362, which are then sent to the particle collector 114 for preparation of the particulate product 116. The particle modifier 360 is typically a furnace, such as an annealing furnace, which may be integral with the furnace 110 or may be a separate heating device. Regardless, it is important that the particle modifier 360 have temperature control that is independent of the furnace 110, so that the proper conditions for particle modification may be provided separate from conditions required of the furnace 110 to prepare the particles 112. The particle modifier 360, therefore, typically provides a temperature controlled environment and necessary residence time to effect the desired structural modification of the particles 112.

The composite electrocatalyst powders of the present invention are particularly useful in energy devices, such as batteries and fuel cells. One such application of the electrocatalyst powders according to the present invention is in the field of batteries. For example, the metal-carbon composite powders are particularly advantageous for use in the electrodes of rechargeable batteries, such as rechargeable zinc-air batteries.

FIG. 36( a) schematically illustrates a secondary (rechargeable) zinc-air battery 500 in a charging mode. The battery 500 includes air electrodes (cathodes) 502 and 508 and a zinc electrode (anode) 504 which includes a layer of zinc 506. The electrodes can be packaged, for example, in a flat container that is open to the air. When the battery cell discharges, FIG. 36( b), the zinc metal 506 is oxidized to Zn²⁺. When all of the zinc has been oxidized, the battery 500 is recharged where Zn²⁺ is reduced back to zinc metal 506.

The zinc-air battery is open to the environment and operates at one atmosphere of pressure. However, such batteries have a low power primarily due to the inefficiency of the catalytic reactions at the air electrode 502. The electrocatalyst powders according to the present invention provide superior air electrodes in this respect. Specifically, significantly higher discharge currents can be achieved at a given voltage.

The electrocatalyst powders of the present invention are also useful in fuel cells. FIG. 37 illustrates a schematic cross section of a membrane electrode assembly for a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. The membrane electrode assembly 550 comprises an anode 552 and cathode 554 which are typically constructed from carbon cloth. The anode 552 and cathode 554 sandwich a catalyst layer 556 and 558 on each side of a proton exchange membrane 560 which can be fabricated from a material such as Nafion 117. Power is generated when hydrogen is fed into the anode 552 through anode channels 562 and oxygen, such as from air, is fed into the cathode 554 Through cathode channels 564. In a reaction catalyzed by a metal catalyst in the catalyst layers 556 and 558, the hydrogen ionizes to form protons and electrons. The protons are transported through the proton exchange membrane 560 to the other catalyst layer where another catalyst catalyzes the reaction of protons with air to form water. The electrons are routed from the anode to the cathode via an electrical circuit which provides electrical power.

A class of fuel cell reactions that is required to be catalyzed is the reaction of a fuel such as hydrogen gas (H₂) to form H⁺ where, in the case of a PEM fuel cell, the H⁺ is transported through a H⁺ ion transport membrane to the cathode. In this case, the fuel cell generally operates in acidic media and the cathode reduces O₂ to ultimately form water as the final product. Other fuels may also be employed such as methanol, natural gas or other hydrocarbons such as methane. In some of these cases other gases which may poison the reaction or catalytically active sites such as CO are also present. These gases must be removed by the presence of an alternative active composition to that which oxidizes the fuel. As a result, the electrocatalysts aid in the removal or conversion of such species to benign products. Examples of such fuel cells are PEM and phosphoric acid fuel cells.

In some cases, catalysts are also required to convert the feedstock fuel such as natural gas to a reactant having a higher H₂ content. This improves the efficiency of the fuel cell and reduces formation of catalyst poisons. The catalytic compositions of the present invention are also useful to catalyze this reaction.

The electrocatalyst powders of the present invention can be deposited onto device surfaces or substrates by a number of different deposition methods which involve the direct deposition of the dry powder such as dusting, electrophotographic or electrostatic precipitation. Other deposition methods involve liquid vehicles such as ink jet printing, syringe dispense, toner deposition, slurry deposition, paste-based methods and electrophoresis. In all these deposition methods, the powders according to the present invention have a number of advantages over the powders produced by other methods. For example, small, spherical, narrow size distribution particles are more easily dispersed in liquid vehicles, they remain dispersed for a longer period of time and allow printing of smoother and finer features compared to powders made by alternative methods.

In many applications, the electrocatalyst powders are formed into a layer, often in combination with other materials as part of a device such as a fuel cell or battery. The method by which these materials are deposited has a strong influence on the characteristics of the deposited layer. In turn, the characteristics of the deposited layer also has a strong influence on the performance of the device. Layer characteristics that are important include average thickness, porosity, compositional homogeneity, nature of the interface with other layers, control over the gradient of composition within a layer and the hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, wettability and accessible surface area.

In some cases it may be desirable to combine the metal and metal oxide phases into a single layer to take advantage of multiple functions. For example, it may be advantageous to combine the electrocatalyst layer with the current collector layer. In this case an electronically conductive layer containing a metal or metal oxide catalyst is necessary. An example of such a layer is a metal or metal alloy such as Ag/Pd with embedded metal oxide phases such as a perovskite metal oxide, e.g., MgTiO₃. It is also advantageous to ensure that this layer has a high degree of porosity to ensure that the active species of this layer are accessible to chemical species such as gases and ions. In particular this layer should be accessible to solid, liquid and gas components.

The electrocatalyst powders according to the present exhibit a high catalytic activity and also have a microstructure which enables them to be formed into layers by methods that are not useful with electrocatalyst powders having different characteristics. The high catalytic activity enables thinner layers of these materials to be deposited since a reduced mass of the electrocatalyst is required to achieve the same level of performance. However, it is also important that in the process of printing the layer, the performance advantages of the powders is retained in the layers, for example access to the porosity of the individual particles.

One way of depositing the powders of the present invention is to apply the powders to a substrate through the use of a thick-film paste. In the thick film process, a viscous paste that includes a functional particulate phase (e.g., a carbon composite powder) is screen printed onto a substrate. More particularly, a porous screen fabricated from stainless steel, polyester, nylon or similar inert material is stretched and attached to a rigid frame. A predetermined pattern is formed on the screen corresponding to the pattern to be printed. For example, a UV sensitive emulsion can be applied to the screen and exposed through a positive or negative image of the design pattern. The screen is then developed to remove portions of the emulsion in the pattern regions.

The screen is then affixed to a screen printing device and the thick film paste is deposited on top of the screen. The substrate to be printed is then positioned beneath the screen and the paste is forced through the screen and onto the substrate by a squeegee that traverses the screen. Thus, a pattern of traces and/or pads of the paste material is transferred to the substrate. The substrate with the paste applied in a predetermined pattern is then subjected to a drying and firing treatment to solidify and adhere the paste to the substrate.

Thick film pastes have a complex chemistry and generally include a functional phase, a binder phase and an organic vehicle phase. The functional phase include the electrocatalyst powders of the present invention. The binder phase can be, for example, a mixture of carbon, metal oxide or glass frit powders. PbO based glasses are commonly used as binders. The function of the binder phase is to control the sintering of the film and assist the adhesion of the functional phase to the substrate and/or assist in the sintering of the functional phase. Reactive compounds can also be included in the paste to promote adherence of the functional phase to the substrate.

Thick film pastes also include an organic vehicle phase that is a mixture of solvents, polymers, resins and other organics whose main function is to provide the appropriate rheology (flow properties) to the paste. The liquid solvent assists in mixing of the components into a homogenous paste and substantially evaporates upon application of the paste to the substrate. Usually the solvent is a volatile liquid such as methanol, ethanol, terpineol, butyl carbitol, butyl carbitol acetate, aliphatic alcohols, esters, acetone and the like. The other organic vehicle components can include thickeners (sometimes referred to as organic binders), stabilizing agents, surfactants, wetting agents and the like. Thickeners provide sufficient viscosity to the paste and also acts as a binding agent in the unfired state. Examples of thickeners include ethyl cellulose, polyvinyl acetates, resins such as acrylic resin, cellulose resin, polyester, polyamide and the like. The stabilizing agents reduce oxidation and degradation, stabilize the viscosity or buffer the pH of the paste. For example, triethanolamine is a common stabilizer. Wetting agents and surfactants are well known in the thick film paste art and can include triethanolamine and phosphate esters.

The different components of the thick film paste are mixed in the desired proportions in order to produce a substantially homogenous blend wherein the functional phase is well dispersed throughout the paste. Typically, the thick film paste will include from about 5 to about 95 weight percent such as from about 60 to 85 weight percent, of the functional phase, including the carbon composite powders of the present invention.

Examples of thick film pastes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos: 4,172,733; 3,803,708; 4,140,817; and 3,816,097 all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Some applications of thick film pastes require higher tolerances than can be achieved using standard thick-film technology, as is described above. As a result, some thick film pastes have photo-imaging capability to enable the formation of lines and traces with decreased width and pitch (distance between lines). In this type of process, a photoactive thick film paste is applied to a substrate substantially as is described above. The paste can include, for example, a liquid vehicle such as polyvinyl alcohol, that is not cross-linked. The paste is then dried and exposed to ultraviolet light through a patterned photomask to polymerize the exposed portions of paste. The paste is then developed to remove unwanted portions of the paste. This technology permits higher density lines and features to be formed. The combination of the foregoing technology with the composite powders of the present invention permits the fabrication of devices with higher resolution and tolerances as compared to conventional technologies using conventional powders.

In addition, a laser can be used instead of ultraviolet light through a mask. The laser can be scanned over the surface in a pattern thereby replacing the need for a mask. The laser light is of sufficiently low intensity that it does not heat the glass or polymer above its softening point. The unirradiated regions of the paste can then be removed leaving a pattern. Likewise, conventional paste technology utilizes heating of the substrate to remove the vehicle from a paste and to fuse particles together or modify them in some other way. A laser can be used to locally heat a conventionally applied paste layer wherein the laser is scanned over the paste layer to form a pattern. The laser heating is confined to the paste layer and drives out the paste vehicle and heats the powder in the paste without appreciably heating the substrate. This allows heating of particles, delivered using pastes, without damaging a glass or even polymeric substrate.

It may be advantageous to print the layers containing the electrocatalyst powders of the present invention using a direct-write device. There are a number of advantages of constructing an energy device such as a battery or fuel cell using printing methods. Printing methods enable the formation of layers that are thinner and with smaller feature sizes than those that can be produced by current manufacturing methods such as rolling and pressing. The thinner layers result in reduced mass and volume and therefore an increase in the volumetric and gravimetric energy density of the battery. The thin devices can be incorporated into unusual vehicles or be directly integrated with electronic devices to give compact self-contained operational systems.

Thinner layers can also facilitate faster transport of chemical species such as ions, electrons and gases due to the reduced diffusional distances. This can lead to improved battery performance where, for example, the diffusion of a chemical species is otherwise a rate limiting factor. This is the case in metal-air batteries where the transport of O₂ or hydroxide ion in the air electrode can be rate limiting. Shorter diffusional distances and lower diffusional barriers will lead to a higher rate of drain for this type of device. The discharge rate can also be improved.

Printing methods can also facilitate better control over the construction of interfaces and layer compositions giving rise to tailored gradients in composition and layer surface morphology that facilitate chemical transport and electrochemical reactions.

Certain printing methods facilitate the construction of features with combined functionalities such that multiple layers may be combined into a single layer with multiple functionality that provides benefits in both performance and energy density.

Metal-air batteries have one of the highest potential for power density, peak power characteristics, voltaic efficiency and rate capability among all battery technologies. In addition, the components of a metal-air battery are very suitable for printing to produce a light-weight, thin battery. The high rate of discharge is also advantageous for portable devices that require frequent high current discharge with a background of low current continuous operation.

Thus, the electrocatalyst particles according to the present invention can advantageously be deposited using a direct-write tool. To be deposited using a direct-write tool, the particles must be carried in a liquid vehicle. The particles should remain well-dispersed in the liquid vehicle for extended periods of time and therefore the cartridge or reservoir into which the suspension is placed will have a long shelf-life. In some instances, substantially fully dense particles can be adequately dispersed and suspended. Depending upon the density of the particle compound, however, particles with a high density relative to the liquid in which they are dispersed and with a size in excess of about 0.5 μm cannot be suspended in a liquid that has a sufficiently low viscosity to be deposited using a direct-write tool, particularly an ink-jet device. In most cases, the apparent density of the particles must therefore be substantially lower than the theoretical density.

More specifically, it is desirable to maintain a substantially neutral buoyancy of the particles in the suspension while maintaining a relatively large physical size. The buoyancy is required for ink stability while the larger size maintains ink properties, such as viscosity, within useful ranges. Stated another way, it is desirable to provide particles having a low settling velocity but with a sufficiently large particle size. The settling velocity of the particles is proportional to the apparent density of the particle (ρ_(s)) minus the density of the liquid (ρ_(L)). Ideally, the fine particles will have an apparent density that is approximately equal to the density of the liquid, which is typically about 1 g/cm³ (i.e., the density of water). Since a compound such as an oxide has a theoretical density (ρ_(ρ)) in the range of from about 3 to about 7 g/cm³, it is preferable that the apparent density of such particles be a small percentage of the theoretical density. According to one embodiment, the particles have an apparent density that is not greater than about 50 percent of the particles theoretical density, more preferably not greater than about 20 percent of the theoretical density. Such particles would have small apparent sizes when measured by settling techniques, but larger sizes when measured by optical techniques.

In the case of electrocatalyst powders, especially carbon-based electrocatalyst powders, they are designed to have a high degree of porosity and therefore relatively low density. This aids in the suspendability of these powders in low viscosity, high powder loading inks.

Some electrocatalyst formulations may be comprised of material with a relatively high density. One preferred method for obtaining a reduced apparent density of the fine particles according to the present invention is to produce particles having either a hollow or a porous microstructure (or a combination thereof). Hollow electrocatalyst particles might include carbon, metal or metal oxide based materials where the surface area of these materials is high with a desire to maintain a relatively low apparent density. That is, one preferred particle morphology is a particle comprised of a dense shell having an inner radius and an outer radius. Preferably, the shell has a high density and is substantially impermeable. Assuming that air fills the interior of such a hollow particle, the equation representing the conditions for neutral buoyancy can be written:

$r_{2} = {\left\lbrack \sqrt[3]{\frac{\rho_{p}}{\rho_{p} - I}} \right\rbrack r_{1}}$ where:

-   -   r₂=outer radius     -   r₁=inner radius     -   ρ_(L)=1 (water)     -   ρ_(ρ)=theoretical density of the particle

For example, if a hollow particle has an outer radius of 2 μm (4 μm diameter) and a density of 5 g/cm³, then the optimum average wall thickness would be about 0.15 μm for the particle to be neutrally buoyant in a liquid having a density of 1 g/cm³. According to one preferred embodiment, the hollow particles have an average wall thickness that is not greater than about 10 percent of the particle diameter, and more preferably not greater than about 5 percent of the particle diameter.

It will be appreciated that other particle morphologies can be utilized while maintaining an apparent density within the desired range. For example, the electrocatalyst particles can have a sufficient amount of porosity to yield a particle having an apparent density that is lower than the theoretical density. Open (surface) porosity can also decrease the apparent density if the surface tension of the liquid medium does not permit penetration of the surface pores by the liquid.

Thus, the fine particles according to the present invention have a low settling velocity in the liquid medium. The settling velocity according to Stokes Law is defined as:

$V = \frac{{D_{st}^{2}\left( {\rho_{s} - \rho_{l}} \right)}g}{18\;\eta}$ where

-   -   D_(st)=Stokes diameter     -   η=fluid viscosity     -   ρ_(s)=apparent density of the particle     -   ρ_(l)=density of the liquid     -   V=settling velocity     -   g=acceleration due to gravity

Preferably, the average settling velocity of the particles is sufficiently low such that the suspensions have a useful shelf-life without the necessity of frequent mixing. Thus, it is preferred that a large mass fraction of the particles, such as at least about 50 weight percent remains suspended in the liquid. The particles preferably have an average settling velocity that is not greater than 50 percent, more preferably not greater than 20 percent, of a theoretically dense particle of the same composition. Further, the particles can be completely redispersed after settling, such as by mixing, to provide the same particle size distribution in suspension as measured before settling.

In one embodiment, the electrocatalyst particles can include a hydrophilic compound, such as silica (SiO₂), hydrophilic carbon, another metal oxide or a surface modification agent/surfactant, to enhance the dispersion characteristics of the powder in the liquid, provided that such an additive does not interfere with the electrocatalytic properties of the particles. Preferably, the hydrophilic compound is found on at least a portion of the surface of the particle. As is discussed in more detail above, the powders according to the present invention are preferably produced utilizing a spray pyrolysis or spray conversion technique, typically in the presence of water vapor. The presence of water vapor during formation of the particles can advantageously result in a hydroxylated particle surface. Such a hydroxylated surface provides further hydrophilicity of the particle, aids in the dispersion of the particles and reduces the number of particle agglomerates in the liquid suspension.

According to the present invention, more than one type of particle can be dispersed in a single liquid vehicle for deposition with a direct-write tool. The particles can be dispersed into the liquid vehicle by lightly mixing or, for example, by using ultrasound. For use in an ink-jet device, the viscosity of the suspension is preferably not greater than about 30 centipoise, more preferably not greater than about 20 centipoise. It is also important to control the surface tension of the liquid suspension and preferably the surface tension is from about 20 to 25 dynes/cm for an ink-jet device.

The solids loading of fine particles in the suspension is preferably as high as possible without adversely affecting the viscosity or other necessary properties of the direct-write composition. For example, the direct-write composition can have a particle loading of up to about 75 weight percent, such as from about 10 to about 50 weight percent.

The direct-write compositions are typically water-based, although other solvents or liquids may be used. Such compositions can include other chemicals including, but not limited to, surfactants, dispersion agents, defoamers, chelating agents, humectants and the like.

More specifically, ink-jet compositions generally include water and an alcohol. Organic solvent based systems can also be used and ink-jet print heads are often tailored for either organic or aqueous systems. Surfactants are also used to maintain the particles in suspension. Co-solvents, also known as humectants, are used to prevent the ink from crusting and clogging the orifice of the ink-jet head. Biocides can also be added to prevent bacterial growth over time. Examples of such ink-jet liquid vehicle compositions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,470 by Martin et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,724 by Sacripante et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,647 by Carlson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,451 by Winnik et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,045 by Johnson et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,041 by Bean et al. Each of the foregoing U.S. patents is incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. The selection of such additives is based upon the desired properties of the composition, as is known to those skilled in the art. The fine particles are mixed with the liquid vehicle using a mill or, for example, an ultrasonic processor.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the liquid vehicle into which the particles are dispersed includes soluble molecular precursors, such as metal precursors, that have a relatively low decomposition temperature. The molecular precursor is preferably a soluble inorganic compound that can be co-deposited with the powders and then thermally treated to form an essentially continuous phase filling any void space between particles. Low temperature decomposition precursors such as those described herein with respect to spray drying can be used. A preferred type of precursor compound are the alpha hydroxycarboxylate (glycolate) derivatives. Metal carboxylates are often advantageous in this respect for the formation of metal compounds. It will be appreciated that the molecular precursors will have a composition that is specific to the material being deposited. Ligands on the molecular precursors can act as a surfactant or the actual liquid vehicle.

In one embodiment, the molecular precursor forms essentially the same compound as the particles. In this embodiment, the particles in the liquid vehicle can advantageously catalyze the molecular precursor to form the desired compound. The addition of precursors with decomposition temperatures below about 300° C. allows the formation of functional features on a polymeric substrate, including polyamide, fluoro-polymers, epoxy laminates and other substrates. These molecular precursors are particularly useful when combined with hollow or porous particles because they contribute to higher densities when the deposited layer is sintered. That is, a portion of the final layer comes from the particles and a portion from the molecular precursor wherein the portion from the precursor fills in space between particles and thereby increases the solids fraction in the final structure.

The liquid vehicle can also include carriers to hold the particles together once the particles are deposited. Such a liquid vehicle would be advantageous when the particles are to be deposited and will not be sintered to adhere the particles to one another. The liquid vehicle could also include a polymer that, after deposition, would yield a polymer layer with particles dispersed throughout the polymer. Further, the liquid vehicle could also include a molecular species which can react with the dispersed particles to modify the properties of the particles.

A direct-write deposition method according to the present invention is illustrated schematically in FIG. 38. In FIG. 38( a), a fine powder 1002 is dispersed in an organic vehicle 1004 including water and various organics to aid in the dispersion of the fine powder 1002. The direct-write tool 1006 ejects the suspension through an orifice and onto a substrate 1008. After deposition the substrate 1008 is thermally treated 1010 to remove the liquid vehicle 1004 including the organics and deposit a thin layer of fine particles 1002.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 38( b), the particles 1012 are dispersed in a liquid vehicle 1014 which include water, organics and at least one molecular precursor to a compound or a metal. The liquid suspension including the particles 1012 and the precursor-containing liquid vehicle 1014 are deposited using a direct-write tool 1016 onto a substrate 1018. After deposition, the substrate 1018 is thermally treated 1020 to remove liquids and convert the precursors to their respective compound or metal. The resulting layer 1022 includes particles dispersed throughout a film of the compound or metal.

As used herein, a direct-write tool is a device that deposits a liquid or liquid suspension onto a surface by ejecting the liquid through an orifice toward the surface without the tool making substantial contact with the surface. The direct-write tool is preferably controllable over an x-y grid relative to the printed surface (i.e. either or both the substrate and device may move). One preferred direct-write tool according to the present invention is an ink-jet device. Other examples of direct-write tools include automated syringes, such as the MICROPEN tool, available from Ohmcraft, Inc., of Honeoye Falls, N.Y. and the DOTLINER dispense system (Manncorp, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) which is capable of dispensing lines, dots and areas down to 200 μm or smaller at speeds of up to 10,000 dots/hour.

According to the present invention, the orifice of the direct-write tool can have a reduced diameter. This is a direct result of the particle characteristics discussed hereinabove. A reduced diameter will enable the formation of finer features.

One preferred direct-write tool according to the present invention is an ink-jet device. Ink-jet devices operate by generating droplets of ink and directing the droplets toward a surface. Ink-jet printing, when applied to the particulate suspensions in accordance with the present invention is a means for delivering controlled quantities of the compound to a variety of substrates.

The position of the ink-jet head is carefully controlled and can be highly automated so that discrete patterns of the ink can be applied to the surface. Ink-jet printers are capable of printing at a rate of 1000 drops per second or higher and can print linear features with good resolution at a rate of 10 cm/sec or more, up to about 1000 cm/sec. Each drop generated by the ink-jet head includes approximately 2 to 200 picoliters of the liquid that is delivered to the surface. For these and other reasons, ink-jet devices are a highly desirable means for depositing materials onto a surface.

Typically, an ink-jet device includes an ink-jet head with one or more orifices having a diameter of less than about 100 μm, such as from about 50 μm to 75 μm. Ink droplets are generated and are directed through the orifice toward the surface being printed. Ink-jet printers typically utilize a piezoelectric driven system to generate the droplets, although other variations are also used. Ink-jet devices are described in more detail in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,875 by Kobayashi et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,293 by Liker, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. However, such devices have primarily been used to deposit inks of soluble dyes.

Ideally, the droplet generated by the printer head is identical in composition to the bulk fluid. However, some filtration of suspensions may occur if the particles are too large to pass through the channels or onboard filters. The small particle size and reduced number of particle agglomerates according to the present invention reduces the amount of particles collected by the filter and can enable removal of the filter.

According to the present invention, it is possible to deposit gradient layers of material wherein the composition of the layer changes through the thickness of the layer. In order to deposit such layers, it is preferred to form the layer using multiple direct-write deposition steps wherein the composition of the suspension being deposited changes through the layer.

Utilizing the direct-write method of the present invention, it is also possible to form features and create device components on a non-planar surface, if required for a specific application or product geometry.

Other processes that can be utilized to fabricate the devices of the present invention include laser transfer and guided optical deposition. In a laser transfer method, a material that is to be deposited is placed onto a transfer substrate such as a glass disc or an organic polymer-based ribbon. The transfer substrate is then placed over the substrate upon which the material is to be deposited. A laser is then used to controllably transfer the material to the substrate from the transfer substrate.

Guided optical deposition is a technique wherein the materials or precursors to the materials are delivered through an optical fiber to the substrate in a controlled manner such that features on the substrate can be formed by controlling the position of the optical fiber relative to the substrate. Upon delivery of the material and or material precursor to the substrate, the material is heated if necessary to convert the material or otherwise modify the material properties. For example, the material can be heated in a localized manner by using a laser.

Metal-carbon composite particles can also be deposited electrophoretically or electrostatically. The particles are charged and are brought into contact with the substrate surface having localized portions of opposite charge. The layer is Typically lacquered to adhere the particles to the substrate. Shadow masks can be used to produce the desired pattern on the substrate surface.

Ink-jet printing is another method for depositing the powders in a predetermined pattern. The metal-carbon powder is dispersed in a liquid medium and dispensed onto a substrate using an ink jet printing head that is computer controlled to produce a pattern. The powders of the present invention having a small size, narrow size distribution and spherical morphology can be printed into a pattern having a high density and high resolution. Other deposition methods utilizing a metal-carbon composite powder dispersed in a liquid medium include micro-pen or syringe deposition, wherein the powders are dispersed and applied to a substrate using a pen or syringe and are then allowed to dry.

Patterns can also be formed by using an ink jet or small syringe to dispense sticky material onto a surface in a pattern. Powder is then transferred to the sticky regions. This transfer can be done is several ways. A sheet covered with powder can be applied to the surface with the sticky pattern. The powder sticks to the sticky pattern and does not stick to the rest of the surface. A nozzle can be used to transfer powder directly to the sticky regions.

Many methods for directly depositing materials onto surfaces require heating of the particles once deposited to sinter them together and densify the layer. The densification can be assisted by including a molecular precursor to a material in the liquid containing the particles. The particle/molecular precursor mixture can be directly written onto the surface using ink jet, micro-pen, and other liquid dispensing methods. This can be followed by heating in a furnace or heating using a localized energy source such as a laser. The heating converts the molecular precursor into the functional material contained in the particles thereby filling in the space between the particles with functional material.

A number of other methods may be employed to construct layers containing the electrocatalyst powders according to the present invention. For example, the powders can be deposited by doctor blading, slot die or curtain coater methods. In these methods, an ink or paste containing the electrocatalyst powder is applied to the surface using blade which is held at a specified height from the substrate. The thickness of the layer can be controlled down to several micrometers in thickness. For slot die and curtain coater methods, the ink or paste is dispensed through a small gap onto a substrate that may be moving on a web drive.

Roll pressing methods can also be used. Roll pressing methods involve mixing components including the electrocatalyst powder, binders and other property modifiers and feeding them through a roll mill to form a pressed film. Roll pressing is often done directly on other active parts of the energy device such as a nickel mesh current collector.

Electrostatic printing methods can be used wherein the electrocatalyst particles are charged with an electric charge, transferred to the drum of a roller, then transferred to a substrate which has the opposite electric charge to that of the particles. This transfer can be carried out in a fashion that results in a blanket layer over the entire substrate or in a patterned manner with the pattern determined by the distribution of the electrical charge on the substrate surface. Typically this method enables the transfer of layers one particle thick and therefore enables very good control over layer thickness for thin layers.

Gravure, rotogravure and intaglio printing methods can be used wherein an ink or paste containing the electrocatalyst powder is transferred to a sunken surface feature, often on a cylinder, that defines the pattern to be transferred to the substrate surface. The substrate is often a continuous feed from a web drive. Relief and flexographic printing methods can also be used which are the reverse of Gravure printing in that a material, often in the form of a paste or ink, is transferred from a raised pattern on a surface, often a roller, to a substrate.

Lithographic printing methods can also be used. In lithographic printing methods, a photosensitive ink or paste is placed on the substrate and exposed to a source of illumination or electromagnetic radiation, generally UV light, wherein the exposed areas interact with this radiation to undergo a change. The change may result in creation of a soluble or insoluble feature depending on the reactivity of the paste and the desire for positive or negative lithography. After removal of the unwanted matter the patterned layer containing the electrocatalyst powder remains for further processing.

Laser transfer methods can be used in which the electrocatalyst containing material is dispersed on a tape or ribbon and a laser is used to transfer material from the underneath surface of the ribbon or tape to the surface of the desired substrate which is close proximity to the tape. Using this method, features can be built with controlled dimensions.

Spray deposition methods can also be used. In spray deposition methods, an ink containing the electrocatalyst powder is fed through a spray nozzle and atomized to form droplets which are directed to a surface where the electrocatalyst layer is to be deposited.

Thus, the electrocatalyst powders produced according to the present invention result in thinner and smoother powder layers when deposited by such liquid or dry powder based deposition methods. Smoother powder layers are the result of the smaller average particle size, spherical particle morphology and narrower particle size distribution compared to powders produced by other methods.

EXAMPLES

1. MnO_(x)/C Composite Particles

Two groups of MnO_(x)/C composite electrocatalyst examples were prepared according to the present invention. The first group, described in Table I, was prepared by ultrasonic aerosol generation and heating the aerosol in a hot-wall reactor (tubular furnace). The second group, described in Table II, was prepared using a spray nozzle to generate an aerosol which was heated in a spray dryer. Air was used for the carrier gas for all examples.

TABLE I Experimental conditions for ultrasonically generated electrocatalysts Additional Reactor Precursor Example Mn Surfactant Temp Mn Concentration Number precursor (wt. %) (° C.) (wt. %) (wt. %) 19A KMnO4 None 400 10 5 19B Mn nitrate None 350 10 5 20A KMnO4 None 350 10 5 20B KMnO4 None 350 10 5 23A KMnO4 0.017 350 10 5 24A KMnO4 0.034 350 10 5 27A Mn nitrate 0.049 350 10 5 28B KMnO4 0.049 300 10 5 28D KMnO4 0.049 250 10 5 28E KMnO4 0.049 200 10 5 29B Mn nitrate/ 0.012 350 10 5 KMnO4

TABLE II Experimental conditions for spray nozzle generated electrocatalysts Additional Reactor Precursor Example Mn Surfactant Temp Mn Concentration Number precursor (wt. %) (° C.) (wt. %) (wt. %) 30A KMnO4 0.078 208 10 5 30C KMnO4 0.078 208 10 5 34B KMnO4 0.078 208 10 5 41A KMnO4 0.083300 315 10 5 41B KMnO4 0.006700 315 10 5 41C KMnO4 0.083300 315 20 5 41D KMnO4 0.083300 315 10 5 44B None 0.000000 208 — 5 44C KMnO4 0.001600 208 5 5 44D KMnO4 0.001600 149 5 5 44E KMnO4 0.001600 149 10 5 44F KMnO4 0.001600 208 10 5 44G KMnO4 0.001600 208 10 5 47A None 0.000000 208 — 10 47B None 0.000000 208 — 5 47C None 0.000000 208 — 2.5 47D KMnO4 0.000000 208 10 2.5 47E KMnO4 0.001600 208 10 2.07

The carbon precursor for all examples listed in Tables I and II was GRAFO1300 (Fuchs Lubricant Co., Harvey, Ill.) an aqueous dispersion of particulate carbon which has an average particle size of about 30 nanometers and a surface area of about 254 m²/g. The aqueous dispersion also includes an anionic surfactant. Additional amounts of a nonionic surfactant (TRITON X-405, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.) were added in some of the examples as is indicated in Tables I and II. Triton X-405 is a 70 wt. % solution of polyoxyethylene(40)-isooctylphenylether in water. The GRAFO 1300 was suspended in water and the Mn precursor, previously dissolved in water, was slowly added to the carbon suspension while stirring. The surfactant, added to the carbon suspension prior to the Mn precursor, reduces precipitation when the Mn precursor is added. The reaction temperature for all examples was maintained below about 400° C. since excessive temperatures (e.g., above 600° C.) can burn-off carbon when air is used as the carrier gas.

More specifically, for the spray nozzle generation (Table II), a batch of MnO_(x)/C powder was prepared in a spray drying apparatus in the following manner. 35.6 kg (78.3 lbs) of carbon paste was added to a batching vessel. 65 kg (143 lbs) of de-ionized water was then added to the carbon paste and mixed thoroughly. 0.13 kg (0.286 lbs) of the nonionic surfactant was added to the mixture and the mixture was stirred for approximately 10 minutes. In a separate vessel, 2.27 kg (5 lbs) of potassium permanganate was dissolved in 65 kg (143 lbs) of de-ionized water. The solution was mixed for 20 minutes to allow the KMnO₄ to dissolve. The KMnO₄ solution was then slowly added to the carbon paste.

FIG. 39 illustrates a scanning electron microscope (SEM) photomicrograph of Example 23A (Table I). The particle morphology illustrated in FIG. 39 is typical for the ultrasonically generated samples. The particles have a spherical shape with the particle size varying between about 0.3 μm and 10 μm. The support phase consists of primary carbon particles. As is illustrated in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) photomicrograph image of FIG. 40, the support phase has a porous structure.

The particles can be partially dissociated to smaller aggregates by mechanical force, such as ultrasound or compressing the particles by rolling into a layer. FIGS. 41 and 42 illustrate the ultrasonically induced dissociation for a typical electrocatalyst powder produced by ultrasonic generation. FIG. 41 illustrates the size distribution before breaking up secondary particles by sonification and FIG. 42 illustrates the same powder after sonification.

FIG. 43 illustrates an SEM photomicrograph of Example 30C, generated by a spray nozzle. A comparison of FIGS. 39 and 43 illustrates that the spray generation method has a significant impact on the morphology of the secondary particles in terms of both shape and size. Some of the large particles produced by the spray nozzle deviate from the spherical shape and have a “donut” shape.

FIG. 44 illustrates the size distribution of a spray dried powder. The secondary particles are larger, with diameters up to 20 μm, but the powder has an average particle size of about 5 μm. The differences in the secondary particles are related to the droplet size typical for the two aerosol generation approaches.

BET nitrogen absorption was used to measure the surface area and porosity of the electrocatalyst powders generated ultrasonically and by a spray nozzle. The results are summarized in Table III. If the ultrasonically generated samples are compared, it is clear that the conversion temperature has an effect on the surface area. Example 19A, converted at 400° C., has a surface area of 93 m²/g, while Example 19B, converted at 350° C. has a surface area of 37 m² g. However, further reduction in the temperature to 300° C. and 250° C. did not produce a significant decrease in the catalyst surface area.

It also appears that the presence of surfactant has an impact on the surface area. At identical conversion temperatures, the sample, which had additional amounts of surfactant in the precursor solution (Example 29B) has a 40% lower surface area than the same powder with no additional surfactant (Example 19B).

TABLE III Surface area of electrocatalysts BET Surface Average Pore Example Generation Method Area (m²/g) Diameter (nm) 19A Ultrasonic 93 — 19B Ultrasonic 37 — 28B Ultrasonic 19 — 28D Ultrasonic 24 — 28E Ultrasonic 19 — 29B Ultrasonic 25 — 34B Ultrasonic 21 — 41A spray nozzle 21 — 41B spray nozzle 21 — 41C spray nozzle 17 — 41D spray nozzle 22 — 44C spray nozzle 28 20 44D spray nozzle 29 19 44E spray nozzle 24 17 44F spray nozzle 24 20 44G spray nozzle 24 21 44H spray nozzle 36 9 47A spray nozzle 36 23 47B spray nozzle 36 23 47C spray nozzle 33 23 47D spray nozzle 24 18 47E spray nozzle 25 16

The pure carbon samples (no surfactant) have the highest surface area of about 35 m²/g. The presence of precursors to MnO_(x) in the solution therefore leads to a reduced surface area and the surface areas for Mn-containing samples are on the order of 20 to 25 m²/g, which is comparable to the surface areas of the ultrasonically generated samples at similar conversion temperatures.

Therefore, the selected aerosol generation method primarily impacts the particle size distribution, while the conversion temperature primarily impacts the surface area of the MnO_(x)/C particles. However, the effect of conversion temperature on the surface area at temperatures below 300° C. is minimal. No significant changes were observed in the pore size distribution for the catalysts as a function of the preparation conditions. For all spray nozzle generated samples the average pore size was on the order of 20 nanometers, which indicates a secondary carbon support phase with no significant micro-porosity.

XPS analysis was also performed on the MnO_(x)/C powders. XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) analysis provides information about the surface composition and Mn oxidation state for the electrocatalysts. Three characteristics of the XPS spectra were analyzed for comparison of samples generated under different conditions:

1) Positions of the binding energy of Mn 2p_(3/2) photoelectrons which are indicative of the Mn oxidation state;

2) Relative intensities of Mn 2p_(3/2) vs. C 1s photoelectron peaks, directly compared between samples, for an indication of MnO_(x) dispersion or for model-based calculations of the average particle size of the dispersed MnO_(x); and

3) Ratios between different binding energies of O 1s photoelectron peaks related to: O₁ bonded to the C support, O₂ bonded to Mn and O₃ bonded in the surfactant used in the precursor formulations.

Two commercial catalysts were evaluated for comparison to the powders of the present invention. Each were standard MnO_(x)/C powders available from commercial manufacturers and used in zinc-air battery applications. Three standards were also analyzed to identify the Mn oxidation state in the electrocatalysts. (MnO₂ powder, Mn₂O₃ powder and KMnO₄ powder.)

The preparation conditions, recording of the spectra and data processing were identical for all samples. The samples were prepared for XPS analysis by pressing the powder into indium (In) foil (99.9%), previously cleaned in HNO₃ to remove C and O impurities at the surface.

The XPS spectra for three control samples (Mn₂O₃, MnO₂ and KMnO₄) and all electrocatalyst powders were recorded on an AXIS HSi (Kratos Analytical) spectrometer, working in ΔE=constant mode at a pass energy of 80 eV, using an aluminum anode (Al K_(a)=1486.7 eV, 225 W). The residual pressure in the analysis chamber was 1×10⁻⁹ Torr. The peak positions were estimated relative to the binding energy of C 1s=284.6 eV. The following XPS peaks, designated by their electron levels, were recorded: Mn 2p, C 1s, O 1s and K 2p. One survey scan was acquired in the 75–1175 eV binding energy range for the control samples and electrocatalyst powders before the high resolution spectra were acquired. The experimental intensities were estimated from the areas of the corresponding peaks, measured on smoothed original peaks. The peak areas of Mn 2p and K 2p peaks include the areas of both 2p_(3/2) and 2p_(1/2) peaks.

Spectra were obtained for control samples and the results are illustrated in Table IV. The Mn 2P_(3/2) peak in the XPS spectra of KMnO₄ consists of two peaks and therefore two different oxidation states of Mn are present.

TABLE IV XPS data for control samples Mn 2p_(3/2) O 1s K 2p_(3/2) C 1s Sample (eV) (eV) (eV) (eV) Mn₂O₃ 641.6 529.6 — 284.6 MnO₂ 641.8 529.4 — 284.6 KMnO₄ 641.5 529.8 290.8 284.6 644.0 293.0

The literature data on the Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy show that it depends on the oxidation state of Mn as follows: Mn (II)—in MnO−640.6 eV Mn (III)—in Mn₂O₃−641.6 eV Mn (IV)—in MnO₂−642.6 eV

An increase of the XPS binding energy with increasing oxidation state of the element is a generally observed trend for a variety of materials. Since the oxidation state of Mn in Mn₂O₃ is Mn (III) and in MnO₂ is Mn (IV), it is expected that the binding energy for the lafter should be higher than for the former compound. However, the experimental data show identical binding energy (within the experimental error) for Mn 2p_(3/2) photoelectrons in Mn₂O₃ and MnO₂ control samples.

However, since MnO₂ is a strong oxidizing agent, it is not surprising that the average oxidation state of Mn near the surface is less than Mn (IV). Another possible reason is that X-ray induced reduction takes place for the MnO₂ powder under the X-ray beam exposure.

The foregoing XPS results suggest that Mn (III) and Mn (IV) oxidation states cannot be clearly distinguished. Still, a general trend for higher binding energy indicates a higher Mn oxidation state.

Table V contains information on the binding energy of the Mn 2p_(3/2), O 1s and C 1s for two commercial electrocatalyst samples, samples 1A and 2A.

TABLE V XPS data for commercial electrocatalyst samples Mn 2p_(3/2) peak K 2p_(3/2) peak O 1s peak Sample position (eV) position (eV) Position (eV) 1A 642.3 292.2 529.7—57% 532.1—43% 2A 642.4 292.7 529.8—62% 531.9—35% 534.6—3%

The comparison of the Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy, 642.3 eV for Sample 1A and 642.4 eV for Sample 2A does not show any significant difference. This binding energy is 0.7 eV higher than the binding energy of 641.6 eV observed for Mn (III) in the Mn₂O₃ control compound. The Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy observed for both commercial electrocatalysts is very close to the position of 642.6 eV, which according to the literature data corresponds to Mn (IV) oxidation state. It is highly probable that X-ray induced reduction effect, observed for the MnO₂ control sample, is less expressed or not at all present for the electrocatalyst samples. It can be speculated that the MnO₂ species which are highly dispersed and in close contact with the conductive carbon surface are less likely to undergo an X-ray induced reduction than the highly crystalline MnO₂ compound.

Therefore, the average Mn oxidation state in the commercial electrocatalysts is between Mn (III) and Mn (IV) and most probably is Mn (IV). The Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy position can be used as a reference for achieving Mn oxidation state favorable for electrocatalytic activity when evaluating the electrocatalysts according to the present invention. The XPS measured Mn oxidation state may be slightly different from the oxidation state in actual conditions.

Table VI contains a summary of the XPS data for electrocatalyst Examples 19A through 34B (Tables I and II). XPS data for Example 30D (Example 30A further heated to 250° C. in air for 1 hour) and Example 33A (Example 30A further heated to 170° C. in air for 1 hour), are also included.

TABLE VI XPS data for electrocatalyst samples Mn 2p_(3/2) peak K 2p_(3/2) peak O 1s peak Example position (eV) position (eV) position (eV) 19A 642.4 292.6 529.9—59% 531.3—32% 533.0—9% 19B 642.0 293.0 529.8—21% 532.2—79% 23A 642.3 292.8 528.9—59% 532.2—41% 28D 642.3 292.8 530.0—30% 531.3—26% 532.9—44% 28E 642.1 293.1 529.9—22% 531.3—42% 533.1—36% 29B 641.4 292.9 — 30A 642.6 293.0 528.9—21% 532.2—79% 30C 642.2 292.8 528.9—21% 532.2—79% 30D 641.5 292.9 — 33A 641.3 293.0 — 34B 642.3 293.0 —

The Mn 2p_(3/2) peak position for the samples obtained with Mn(NO₃)₂ as a precursor (Examples 19B and 29B), are lower by 0.4–1.0 eV compared to the commercial electrocatalysts. The Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy for the majority of electrocatalysts, 19A, 23A, 28D, 30A, 30C and 34B is similar to the position for the commercial samples. This result indicates that the Mn oxidation state in these samples is Mn (IV), while the Mn oxidation state in Examples 19B and 29B is closer to Mn (III), because the binding energy value is similar to that for the Mn₂O₃ control sample. Since Examples 19B and 29B originate from precursor formulations containing Mn(NO₃)₂ as opposed to KMnO₄, it is clear that different precursor formulations result in different MnO_(x) surface species in the electrocatalysts, and therefore different catalytic activity. An average oxidation state close to Mn (IV) is likely most beneficial for the electrocatalytic activity of the samples as is discussed with the electrocatalytic activity data hereinbelow.

For Examples 30D and 33A, there is a shift of about 1.0 eV to a lower Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy compared to their corresponding counterpart before the heat treatment (Example 30A). This is an indication that the post heat treatment leads to a reduction of Mn (IV) to Mn (III) oxidation state and therefore may be undesirable.

The O 1s spectra for Example 19A is characteristic of examples where the conversion of the precursor is complete. Therefore, the ratio of the different O 1s photoelectron peaks for each sample can be used to estimate the ratio of MnO_(x) crystallite surface and the carbon support surface which is not covered by MnO_(x) crystallites. Only 9% of the O 1s peak intensity can be related to the presence of oxygen from surfactant which was not reacted during the spray conversion. For the other limiting case, Example 19B, the O 1s peak at 532.2 eV, which accounts for about 80% of the O 1s peak intensity, corresponds to O in NO₃ species and its presence indicates non-complete conversion of the precursor. Example 19B demonstrates significantly lower electrocatalytic activity compared to Example 19A, as is discussed below.

The only difference in the preparation conditions between Examples 19A, 28D and 28E is the spray conversion temperature. Comparing the O 1s region, it is clear that while for Example 19A (400° C.) there is no significant O 1s peak associated with the presence of a surfactant, for Examples 28D (250° C.) and 28E (200° C.) that peak (533.2 eV) accounts for 30–40% of the O 1s intensity.

Therefore, the spray conversion temperature influences the presence of surfactant in the catalyst powders. Since the remaining surfactant is deposited either on top of the active MnO_(x) species or on the carbon surface, it could potentially influence the catalytic activity of the samples. Therefore, in order to minimize eventual negative effect of the surfactant, either higher conversion temperatures should be used or the presence of surfactant in the spray solution should be minimized.

The XPS data also contain information on the dispersion of the MnO_(x) species on the carbon support surface. This information is indirectly included in the relative intensities of I(Mn 2p)/I(C 1s). In order to extract the information on the dispersion, several other parameters are needed for the electrocatalysts such as the bulk composition of the samples, the BET surface area and the theoretically calculated relative intensities for monolayer distribution.

Table VII contains information about the bulk composition of the samples analyzed both by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). XRF data generally show higher values for the Mn and K compared to the AAS data. The results suggest that the electrocatalyst powders of the present invention have higher molar concentration of both Mn and K than the commercial samples. Absolute values for the weight percent concentration by AAS for the electrocatalysts of the present invention closely match the expected values, based on the composition of the precursor solution.

TABLE VII AAS/XRF data for the bulk composition Sample Or Mn K Mn/C at. K/C at. Example (wt. %) (wt. %) ratio ×10² ratio ×10²  1A 1.78/2.80 0.90/1.47 0.40/0.64 0.28/0.48  2A 6.00/9.54 2.67/3.87 1.44/2.32 0.90/1.37 19A 9.04/14.8 7.94/12.2 2.38/4.43 2.93/5.13 19B 9.06/14.9 2.48/3.70 2.24/4.00 0.86/1.40

Table VII contains data on the BET surface area, the theoretically calculated values for I(Mn 2p)/I(C 1s) relative intensities if the MnO_(x) species were to be distributed as a monolayer and the I(Mn 2p)/I(C 1s) experimentally measured values.

Commercial Sample 2A includes a high-surface area activated carbon. All of the electrocatalyst powders of the present invention have an order of magnitude lower surface area, formed after the primary high surface area carbon support forms the secondary carbon support structures as described above. The high-surface area activated carbon support (Samples 1A and 2A) possess a significant degree of internal microporosity, while the spray converted secondary support formed in accordance with the foregoing examples has primarily mesoporosity.

TABLE VIII XPS modeling data for MnO_(x) particle size estimation Voltage (V) I (Mn 2p)/ I (Mn 2p)/ Surface Estimated at discharge Sample/ I (C 1s) I (C 1s) area particle size current of Example (Experimental) (monolayer) (m²/g) (nm) 300 mA/cm² 1A 0.378 0.205 121 Non- — homogeneous distribution 2A 2.803 0.340 713 Non- 0.82 homogeneous distribution 23A 1.188 1.754 93 2 1.02 30A 0.863 6.651 24 15 0.91 30C 1.090 6.651 25 12 0.95 30D 0.688 6.650 30 40 0.76

The information for the estimated average MnO_(x) particle size is extracted by a comparison between the theoretical and experimental values for I(Mn 2p)/I(C 1s) relative intensities. The changes in XPS relative intensities and the comparison of the experimental data to the theoretical ones is based on the method of Kerkhof and Moulijn (F.P.J.M. Kerkhof and J. A. Moulijn, J. Phys. Chem. 83, (1979) 1612). This approach as previously applied to dispersed catalysts (P. Atanasova and T. Halachev, Applied Catalysis A: General 108 (1994) 123; P. Atanasova et al., Applied Catalysis A: General 161 (1997) 105) provides reliable information about the distribution of the active components on a dispersed support. When the experimental value for I(Mn 2p)/I(C 1s) relative intensities is close to but lower than theoretical, an estimate of the particle size is possible through this XPS model. When the experimental value for I(Mn 2p)/I(C 1s) relative intensities is higher than theoretical, no exact estimate of the particle size is possible through this XPS model. However, this is an indication for a non-homogeneous distribution of MnO_(x) species preferentially on the external surface area of the carbon support.

For Samples 1A and 2A, the experimental values for the I(Mn 2p)/I(C 1s) relative intensities are significantly higher than theoretical. Therefore, the total surface area of the carbon support is not effectively utilized and the MnO_(x) active species are localized mainly on the external surface area of the carbon support. The result is not surprising since the activated carbon surface area includes a significant degree of microporosity. During the wet processing used to form such powders, this porosity is not accessible for adsorption of precursors from the liquid phase due to wetting characteristics.

In contrast, the experimental values for the I(Mn 2p)/I(C 1s) relative intensities for the electrocatalysts of the present invention are lower than theoretical and from the deviation an average MnO_(x) particle size was estimated for each sample, as is detailed in Table VIII. The estimated average particle size varies from 2 nanometers for Example 23A to 40 nanometers for Example 30D. The result for Example 23A indicates uniform deposition of the active species throughout the carbon support surface area and only a few monolayers of MnO_(x) surface species. It is apparent that the dispersion varies depending on the preparation conditions, the relevant parameters being the type of spray generation and the spray conversion temperature. However, the XPS modeling data demonstrate uniform deposition throughout the carbon support surface area.

Table VIII also includes information on the electrocatalytic testing. The voltage attained by an electrode prepared with the electrocatalysts of the present invention in half-cell experiments at a discharge current of 300 mA/cm² was chosen as a parameter for comparison of the electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts.

FIG. 45 illustrates the correlation between the electrocatalytic activity and XPS estimated average particle size from the data in Table VIII. There is a linear correlation between the electrocatalytic performance of the catalysts and the average MnO_(x) crystallite size. It is important to note that all catalysts compared in FIG. 45 (except Example 30D) have identical Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy, indicating an identical Mn oxidation state. Based on the XPS model, no estimation of the MnO_(x) cluster size was possible for the commercial catalysts since they had a non-homogeneous distribution wherein MnO_(x) was preferentially deposited on the outer support surface. However, if the electrocatalytic performance for the Sample 2A catalyst is compared to the data in FIG. 45, the corresponding MnO_(x) size for this electrocatalyst is about 30 nanometers.

The combined information on the Mn oxidation state and MnO_(x) dispersion derived from the XPS analysis is a valuable source for clarifying the MnO_(x)/C electrocatalyst structure and for predicting the electrocatalyst performance. Achieving a Mn oxidation state that is optimal for the electrocatalytic performance is probably the most critical requirement. However, forming the active species in a highly dispersed form is also important. The higher the dispersion, the higher the number of active centers exposed to the electrochemical reagents and catalyzing the reaction.

In order to confirm the XPS estimated average crystallite size, several other analytical techniques were used. An X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) spectrum of a control sample prepared by ultrasonic generation at 300° C. with KMnO₄ as a precursor to MnO_(x) showed no indication of any crystalline structures. In general, this result indicates that either no such species are formed or that their concentration and/or size are too small to be detected by XRD. Typically, for dispersed oxides, the XRD detection limit is about a 40 to 50 nanometer crystallite size. For Mn(NO₃)₂ based catalyst (conversion temperature of 300° C.) an indication of some crystalline structures was observed. However, the features were too weak for identification and, as XPS data suggested, this could be related to the presence of non-converted Mn(NO₃)₂ in the catalysts.

A further increase in the conversion temperature produced more pronounced XRD peaks, the positions of which were related to the formation of crystalline Mn₃O₄ or Mn₂O₃. In general, this indicates that if the conversion temperature is too high (at otherwise identical residence time), the diffusion and agglomeration of the converted MnO_(x) species leads to the formation of large crystallites that are XRD detectable. Once such low-dispersion structures are formed, no significant electrocatalytic activity is expected. Therefore, only a proper combination of several spray generation parameters such as the method of generation, the precursor composition and the temperature of conversion ensures proper kinetics of the conversion and diffusion of the active surface species that are optimal for the electrocatalytic performance.

The benefit of the XPS derived dispersion data relates to information averaged over a large number of catalyst particles. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), which gives a high magnification-image of the catalyst morphology, was used to confirm the data collected by XPS. For Example 23A, small 1 to 2 nanometer size amorphous MnO_(x) species were observed on the primary carbon particle surface (d=30 nm). Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) performed on the particle confirmed that the surface species are Mn containing and that these species are uniformly distributed throughout the particle.

TEM images of Sample 2A showed areas of higher contrast attributed to the MnO_(x) particles deposited mainly on the external surface area of the carbon support. Higher magnification images showed that these MnO_(x) species are 20 to 40 nanometers in size, they are crystalline and reside on the outside surface area of the carbon support. Therefore, the TEM observations confirm the XPS derived data on the MnO_(x) dispersion and deposition uniformity. Observations by TEM for Sample 1A yielded similar results.

TEM observations of Example 30D, which is a post heat-treated sample corresponding to Example 30A, were also made. As described in Table VIII, the XPS estimated particle size for Example 30A is approximately 10 to 15 nanometers, while for Example 30D it is approximately 40 nanometers. The TEM images indicated that in some areas of the carbon support, the MnO_(x) clusters are highly dispersed while in other areas large crystallites of about 50 nanometers in size are formed. The larger clusters consist of MnO_(x) crystallites which are about 10 to 15 nanometers in size.

This TEM observation is in excellent correlation with the XPS estimated average particle size of 40 nanometers. In addition, these results point to a very important detail of the structure of the electrocatalysts of the present invention—elevated temperature post treatment of the catalysts may lead to diffusion of MnO_(x) crystallites, formation of large crystallites and significant decrease in the dispersion of the active phase. In combination with the change in the Mn oxidation state, observed by XPS, this is a clear explanation of why the electrocatalytic activity of a post heat-treated sample is significantly lower compared to the original spray converted counterpart.

The influence on the electrocatalytic activity of the spray conversion temperature, presence of surfactant, precursor concentration and additives was systematically analyzed for Examples 41A through 47E. Based on the previous XPS findings the samples were characterized by the binding energy positions for Mn as an indication for the Mn oxidation state and the I(Mn)/I(C) relative intensities as a measure for the dispersion of the MnO_(x) species. The relative intensities and type of O 1s XPS peaks were analyzed in relation to the presence of surfactant and its influence on the electrocatalytic activity.

FIG. 46 illustrates the relationship between the electrocatalytic activity and the XPS relative intensities for Examples 19A through 30D. This dependence was used as a baseline for the further analysis of the influence of different spray conversion parameters on the electrocatalytic activity. For all spray nozzle generated samples, the BET surface areas are comparable and would not significantly influence the XPS model calculations of the average MnO_(x) cluster size. Therefore, a comparison of the XPS I(Mn)/I(C) relative intensities is an adequate measure of the dispersion of the active species. As can be seen from FIG. 46, the higher I(Mn)/I(C) relative intensities, the higher the electrocatalytic performance of the samples, if other characteristics of the catalyst (surface area and Mn oxidation state) are identical.

TABLE IX XPS data for Examples 41A–47E Spray Mn 2p_(3/2) I (Mn 2p)/ Voltage [V] conversion Precursor binding I (C 1s) at discharge temperature Mn Concentration energy (Experi- current of Example (° C.) (wt. %) (wt. %) (eV) mental) 300 mA/cm² 41A 315 10 5 642.2 0.71 0.91 41B 315 10 5 642.0 0.83 0.97 41C 315 20 5 641.9 1.39 0.85 41D 315 10 5 641.8 1.03 0.96 44C 208 5 5 641.7 0.33 0.99 44D 149 5 5 642.3 0.46 0.92 44E 149 10 5 642.3 1.03 1.01 44F 208 10 5 642.3 0.76 0.95 44G 208 10 5 642.2 0.86 1.00 47D 208 10 2.5 642.4 0.78 0.95 47E 208 10 2.1 642.2 0.86 0.97

The Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy for most of the samples is identical to the previously analyzed electrocatalysts (642.3±0.1 eV), which indicates a Mn (IV) oxidation state. Only for Examples 41C–44C does the binding energy deviate significantly from the above position and is 641.8±0.1 eV. Therefore, in the latter samples, the Mn oxidation state is lower and most likely a mixture of Mn (IV) and Mn (III) oxidation states.

Examples 41A through 41D illustrate the influence of variable amounts of surfactant in the spray solution, variation in the weight percent of Mn as well as the spray conversion temperature as compared to Examples 30A and 30C. A comparison between Examples 30C and 41A leads to the conclusion that a higher conversion temperature is not necessarily beneficial for the catalyst morphology and performance. Both the MnO_(x) dispersion and the electrocatalytic activity are lower for Example 41A, which was made at a higher conversion temperature with all other parameters being kept constant.

It appears that the lower the amount of added surfactant, the better the dispersity and electrocatalytic performance (compare Example 41A to Example 41B). Doubling the Mn concentration does not lead to any improvement in the electrocatalytic performance. In contrast, it is the lowest in the series of spray nozzle generated samples. This result indicates that the surface coverage at 10 weight percent Mn and about 25 m²/g support surface area has the adequate balance of well-dispersed MnO_(x) species and non-covered carbon surface area. Further increase in the Mn concentration, even if it ensures higher concentration of MnO_(x) centers, does not improve the electrocatalytic performance.

The preparation conditions for Examples 41A and 41D are identical, except that for Example 41D a reduced flow in the spray reactor was employed. It appears that both the dispersion and the electrocatalytic activity are improved for Example 41D. This effect is significant (over 30%) for the dispersion and moderate for the electrocatalytic activity. It should be noted that the longer residence time leads to a lower oxidation state of Mn similar to the post heat-treated Example 30D. The higher residence time at elevated temperatures may lead to an undesirable reduction of the MnO_(x) surface species.

Comparison between Examples 44C and 44D, both with 5 weight percent Mn concentration, shows that decreasing the conversion temperature from 208° C. to 149° C. produced a better dispersion of the active species but not necessarily better catalytic activity (Table IX). This observation is confirmed for 10 weight percent Mn catalysts, Example 44E (149° C.) and Example 44G (208° C.). The two examples have significantly different dispersion, the one for Example 44E being 30% higher, but identical electrocatalytic performance. An explanation for this deviation of the correlation higher dispersion-higher activity can be found in the O 1s XPS spectra.

It is clear from this XPS data that the higher concentration of KMnO₄ in the precursor solution for Example 44E had an oxidizing effect on the surfactant present in the solution. The relative intensity of the O 1s peak related to the surfactant (533.2 eV) for Example 44E is much lower compared to Example 44D. Thus, even though the conversion temperature is rather low (149° C.), the burnout of the surfactant is quite effective. Apparently, if the surfactant is still present at the catalyst surface, it blocks active centers and even though the MnO_(x) dispersion is reasonable, the activity is lower than for Example 44D. Further comparison with the O 1s XPS spectra for Example 47D shows that if the added surfactant is completely eliminated, the O 1s peak related to the surfactant is further decreased in intensity.

Lowering the surfactant concentration in the precursor solution has a negative effect on the MnO_(x) cluster dispersion (compare Example 30C and Example 47D). However, the benefit of less surfactant, which if present acts as a catalyst poison, outweighs the lower dispersion and the resulting catalytic activity is identical. Therefore, the amount of high molecular weight surfactants should be minimized in the precursor suspensions.

Example 44E prepared with spray nozzle generation has identically high performance to the ultrasonically generated Example 23A. Example 44E was prepared at the lowest conversion temperature of 149° C., with minimal addition of surfactant, 10 weight percent Mn and 5 weight percent solution concentration. Most likely these particular conditions (along with others such as residence time) ensure good kinetic conditions for the formation and distribution of the MnO_(x) active species on the carbon support.

A higher surface area carbon support compared to the carbon support used for the previous spray conversion examples (surface area of 254 m²/g) will provide higher support surface area available for the MnO_(x) absorption. The surface area reduction after the spray conversion observed for the previous carbon support was on the order of about 10 times. Because of that reduction of the surface area, higher loading of MnO_(x) was not beneficial for the electrocatalytic activity because of the lack of sufficient surface area to ensure high dispersion of the additional amounts of MnO_(x). Therefore, carbon supports with higher starting surface area and different types of porosity were chosen to test their applicability for producing electrocatalysts with higher MnO_(x) loading and high dispersion of the active MnO_(x) species.

Electrocatalyst preparation was again conducted using ultrasonic and two-fluid jet nozzle aerosol generation and two types of high surface area carbons were used, KETJENBLACK (Akzo Nobel, Ltd, Amersfoort, Netherlands) and BLACKPEARLS 2000 (Cabot Corp., Alpharefta, Ga.). Each has a surface area of from about 1300 to 1500 m²/g although the KETJENBLACK carbon is more graphitic. KETJENBLACK samples were considerably more viscous and thus were diluted with water to reduce the carbon concentration to 2 weight percent. BLACKPEARLS samples were less viscous and were diluted with water to yield 4 weight percent carbon. In the samples with Mn/C ratios higher than 10%, KMnO₄ was added, being initially dissolved in the water used for sample dilution. All the samples were processed while varying the inlet temperature and KMnO₄ content. This resulted in the electrocatalyst samples listed in Table X.

TABLE X High surface area carbon electrocatalyst examples Carbon Black Mn/C Inlet T Weight Recovery Example Source (wt. %) (° C.) (g) (%) 35A Ketjenblack 10 208 400 82 35B Ketjenblack 10 315 440 88 36A Ketjenblack 15 208 530 94 36B Ketjenblack 15 315 510 92 37A Ketjenblack 20 208 600 93 37B Ketjenblack 20 315 660 94 38A Blackpearls 10 208 490 98 38B Blackpearls 10 315 500 99 39A Blackpearls 15 208 570 97 39B Blackpearls 15 315 570 98 40A Blackpearls 20 208 610 96 40B Blackpearls 20 315 630 98

Examples were processed in the order listed in Table X. The carrier gas pressure was 80 psi and the carbon suspension was delivered to the spray nozzle at a rate of 150 to 250 mL/min.

MnO_(x) was successfully dispersed over both high-surface area carbon materials resulting in high surface area electrocatalytic powder. FIGS. 47 and 48 illustrate the dependencies of the surface area on the amount of Mn deposited on the carbon. Catalysts based on both types of carbon support can be obtained with BET surface areas from 850 to 600 m²/g when the Mn concentration is varied from 10 to 20 weight percent. The conversion temperature does not affect the surface area significantly. In all cases there is an apparent linearity in the dependencies that can be interpreted in terms of even distribution of the MnO_(x) on the carbon carrier surface, resulting in additive blocking and agglomeration effects.

Table XI contains the XPS data for the examples listed in Table X.

TABLE XI XPS data for samples based on high-surface area carbon blacks Spray drier inlet Mn 2p_(3/2) I (Mn 2p)/ temperature Mn binding energy I (C 1s) Example (° C.) (wt. %) (eV) Experimental 35A 208 10 l.r.* 0.052 35B 315 10 641.6 0.143 36A 208 15 642.8 0.229 36B 315 15 644.1 0.257 37A 208 20 l.r.* 0.061 37B 315 20 643.2 0.330 38A 208 10 644.5 0.052 38 315 10 l.r. 0.000 39A 208 15 643.1 0.269 39B 315 15 642.6 0.141 40A 208 20 n.a. n.a. 40B 315 20 642.2 0.244 *l.r. — low resolution

FIGS. 49 and 50 compare the dispersion of the MnO_(x) species (followed by the changes in the XPS I(Mn)/I(C) relative intensities) as a function of the Mn loading and spray drier inlet temperature for KETJENBLACK (FIG. 49) and BLACKPEARLS (FIG. 50) supports. Since the sample surface area also changes as a function of the active species loading and the conversion inlet temperature, an accurate comparison of the dispersion requires application of the Kerkhof and Moulijn XPS model. However, for initial evaluation of the catalysts morphology and active phase distribution, the XPS I(Mn)/I(C) relative intensities will be used.

For both catalyst supports an inlet temperature of 315° C. produces samples with a linear increase of the XPS I(Mn)/I(C) relative intensities vs. Mn content. For an inlet temperature of 208° C., the results are very different for the two types of samples. While for the KETJENBLACK support the XPS values for an inlet temperature of 208° C. are lower than for 315° C. whereas, for the BLACKPEARLS support they are significantly higher. These results indicate that carbon support chemistry and morphology play a significant role in the formation of the active species and their distribution. In support of this statement are the XPS data for the Mn 2p_(3/2) binding energy positions (Table XI). Only for very few samples such as Examples 40B, 39B, and 36A is the binding energy similar to that of Mn (IV) oxidation state. For Example 35B it is closer to the Mn (III) oxidation state, while for all other samples it has significantly higher values. These higher values could be due either to the presence of non-converted precursor or the presence of converted MnO_(x) species with higher than Mn (IV) oxidation state.

2. NiCoO_(x) Bi-functional Electrocatalysts

Bi-functional catalysts for oxygen reduction/evolution are complex electrochemical catalyst systems. These electrocatalysts must possess at least two different types of catalytic active centers, based on the fact that oxygen evolution and oxygen electro-reduction are both irreversible reactions. Among several possible chemistries, the mixed oxide system NiO:CoO (1:2) was selected for evaluation. This is one of the least sophisticated bi-functional electrocatalyst, yet demonstrates exceptional activity and sufficient cycle life.

The cycle life of a bi-functional catalyst will be limited by the destruction of the carbon support during oxygen evolution (cell charging), the so called “electrochemical burning” of carbon. Graphitic carbons are more resistant to the electrochemical oxidation during oxygen evolution than amorphous carbons. NiO:CoO composite electrocatalysts are typically obtained by a conventional precipitation on activated carbon. A catalyst made by this method was used for comparison to the present invention.

Several samples of NiO:CoO electrocatalysts were synthesized both supported on various carbon materials and as individual composite powders (no supporting material used). The catalysts samples were prepared using ultrasonic aerosol generation and the resulting electrocatalyst powders exhibited surface areas of from about 2 to 90 m²/g.

Electrochemical evaluation of the NiO:CoO bi-functional electrocatalysts included initial polarization curves in alkaline electrolyte for screening and incorporation into a laboratory test cell with a metal hydride (MH) anode to form a MH-air system and to test cycle life.

The bi-functional oxygen electrodes were made using a conventional dry-powder press technology. A hydrophobic layer of hydrophobized acetylene carbon black (35 Teflon) was pressed at 300 kg/cm² at an elevated temperature of 340° C. on a nickel mesh current collector with a catalytic layer, loaded with approximately 1 mg/cm² of electrocatalyst. Electrodes with three types of catalyst were compared: dispersed NiO:CoO electrocatalyst; NiO:CoO electrocatalysts supported on carbon black; and a “standard” NiO:CoO electrocatalyst, made by a traditional precipitation procedure. All the electrodes were evaluated in a half-cell testing assembly using KOH as electrolyte.

FIG. 51 illustrates the polarization curves of the electrodes tested. The polarization curve of the electrode with a prior art catalyst is shown in FIGS. 51–53 by a dashed line and the remaining lines are catalysts produced according to the present invention. It can be seen that dispersed NiO:CoO electrocatalyst prepared according to the present invention demonstrates the most advantageous performance in oxygen reduction. The superiority of the same electrocatalyst is even more pronounced in the reaction of oxygen evolution, as illustrated in FIG. 52. In this case, the NiO:CoO electrocatalyst of the present invention allows evolution of the molecular oxygen at the lowest anodic potential.

Re-calculation of the results presented in FIG. 51 and FIG. 52, in terms of ratios of the cathodic/anodic voltages at a given current density (expressed in percent) is illustrated in FIG. 53. This figure presents the voltaic efficiency of the oxygen bi-functional electrodes which is directly associated with energy losses during the charge/discharge cycles of a cell.

Due to the superior performance of the NiO:CoO electrocatalyst of the present invention voltaic efficiency of the electrode made with this catalyst is from 62 to 65 percent within the expected range of operating current densities of 10 to 20 mA/cm². This is a very promising result since voltaic efficiencies above 55 percent are considered practical, and in commercial battery systems they usually do not exceed 60 percent. Based on these results, the dispersed unsupported NiO:CoO electrocatalyst was selected for further evaluation in a laboratory MH-air cell.

Two identical bifunctional oxygen gas diffusion electrodes (open area 5 cm²) with NiO:CoO electrocatalyst were used in a symmetrical assembly. They were mounted in the walls of the testing cell.

The metal hydride electrode was prepared using the AB₅ metal alloy composition MmNi_(4.1)Co_(0.4)Mn_(0.4)Al_(0.3) as the active species (where Mm is mischmetal). The electrode consisted of 0.1 g/cm² a mixture of the metal hydride alloy powder and hydrophobized carbon black (35 wt. % Teflon) in a weight ratio of 1:1, pressed on the both sides of a nickel mesh. The working area of the electrodes was 5 cm².

The MH electrode was immersed between the two oxygen electrodes and the cell was filled in with a 31 wt. % KOH electrolyte. The overall thickness of the test cell is approximately 11 mm (1 mm per electrode and 4 mm for each electrolyte layer, the distance between the oxygen cathode and the MH anode). The central part of the cell was provided with two holes for filling the electrolyte and for a reference electrode used for independent measurements of the electrodes polarization during operation. The electrolyte volume in the cell was 10 cm³.

The MH-air testing cell was cycled at relatively high current densities of 13.5 mA/cm² at C/2 charge/discharge rate (total current approximately 110 mA). This regime was chosen to expose the oxygen electrodes to harsh conditions in order to reveal a potential malfunction in a considerably short time. FIG. 54 shows the voltage transients obtained during several days of such a high-load test. It can be seen from the figure that the cell performance did not deviate from uniformity through 16 charge/discharge cycles. There was no observation of the electrolyte darkening from eventual products of oxygen electrode degradation. The electrocatalyst has demonstrated superior electrochemical activity with respect to both reactions and contains no oxidizable carbon support.

Reproducibility and the effectiveness of the charge/discharge characteristics of the testing MH-air cell are illustrated also by FIG. 55, which shows the specific capacity as a function of 24 cycles. The curve reveals excellent initial cyclabilty of the cell demonstrated by the retention of the discharge capacity at 220 mAh/g (variations are associated with periodic additions of electrolyte). There is no declining trend after 15 to 20 cycles, which is frequently observed for other metal-air secondary battery systems. The gravimetric power density is about 35 W/kg and the volumetric power density is 70 W/L. The corresponding energy density is 80 Wh/kg and specific energy is 150 Wh/L.

3. Metal-Carbon Composite Powders

Further examples in accordance with the present invention were prepared and are described in Table XII. The powder batch examples were prepared by ultrasonic generation and the aerosol was heated in a tubular furnace reactor. All of the examples were prepared using GRAFO 1300 (Fuchs Lubricant Co., Harvey, Ill.) which is a suspension of carbon particles having an average particle size of 30 nanometers and a surface area of about 254 m²/g. The corresponding amount of Pt precursor was dissolved and added to the carbon suspension to form the precursor. Table XII describes the type of Pt precursor used, the carrier gas, the conversion temperature and targeted Pt nominal concentration in the final catalyst.

TABLE XII Conditions for ultrasonically generated Pt/C powder Furnace Pt temperature Carrier Example Pt precursor (wt. %) (° C.) gas 27B Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 400 Air 31B Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 700 Air 31C Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 500 Air 32A Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 300 Air 32B Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 200 Air 33B Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 200 N₂ 33C Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 300 N₂ 36A Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 300 N₂ 36B Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 300 N₂ 36C Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 500 N₂ 37A Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 500 N₂ 37B Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 500 N₂ 37C Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 700 N₂ 37D Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 700 N₂ 37E Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 700 N₂ 38A Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 500 N₂ 38B Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 500 Air 39A Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ 20 400 Air 39B H₂Pt(OH)₆ 10 400 Air 40C H₂Pt(OH)₆ 10 300 Air

FIG. 56 illustrates a low magnification (2000×) TEM image of Example 31C, which is typical for the examples produced. The secondary carbon particles are substantially spherical with the particle size varying between 1 and 2 μm. The secondary particles (support phase) consist of primary carbon particles of about 30 nanometer diameter and various sizes of Pt particles and particle clusters dispersed thereon. FIG. 57 illustrates a higher magnification image (12,000×) of Example 31C. As can be seen from the TEM images, the secondary electrocatalyst particles have a highly porous structure.

The BET nitrogen absorption method was used to analyze the surface area of the ultrasonically generated Pt/C catalyst powders according to the present invention. The results are summarized in FIG. 58. Both the conversion temperature and the carrier gas composition had an effect on the catalyst surface area. When air is used as a carrier gas, the surface area is higher at a conversion temperature of 300° C. (89 m²/g) compared to 200° C. (22 m²/g). However, a further increase of the conversion temperature to 400° C. did not lead to significant change in the surface area. In contrast, when nitrogen is used as carrier gas, the catalyst surface area increases to 125 m²/g at 500° C. and a further increase of the conversion temperature to 700° C. also decreases the surface area.

Analysis of the changes in the surface area as a function of the spray conversion temperature and carrier gas composition led to the following conclusions:

-   -   when air is used as a carrier gas, spray conversion temperatures         above 300° C. are not significantly beneficial for increasing         the surface area;     -   when nitrogen is used as a carrier gas, the powder surface area         is generally higher compared to powders generated with air as a         carrier gas;     -   if nitrogen is used as a carrier gas, a conversion temperature         of 500° C. is advantageous for producing a high surface area         powder; and     -   the surface area after spray conversion is at least three times         lower than the surface area of the original carbon support.

XPS analysis was performed on the samples to provide information about the Pt oxidation state and dispersion in the catalysts. Three main characteristics of the XPS spectra were analyzed allowing comparison between the samples generated at different conditions: the positions of the binding energy of Pt 4f_(7/2) photoelectrons which indicates the Pt oxidation state; the relative intensities of Pt 4f vs. C 1s photoelectron peaks which indicates the level of Pt dispersion; and the appearance of N 1s photoelectron peak and its relative intensity vs. C 1s peak which indicate the level of impurities and the degree of conversion of the platinum precursor.

All preparation conditions, recording of the spectra and data processing were identical for all samples. The samples were prepared for XPS analysis by pressing them into indium foil (99.9%) which was previously cleaned in HNO₃ to remove impurities at the surface.

The XPS spectra for all of the catalysts were recorded on an AXIS HSi (Kratos Analytical) spectrometer, working in ΔE=constant mode at a pass energy of 80 eV, using a monochromated aluminum anode (Al K_(α)=1486.7 eV, 225 W). The residual pressure in the analysis chamber was 1×10⁻⁹ Torr (1 Torr=133.3 Pa). The peak positions were estimated relative to the binding energy of C 1s=284.6 eV. The following XPS peaks, designated by their electron levels, were recorded: Pt 4f, C 1s, O 1s and N 1s. One survey scan was acquired in the 75 to 1175 eV binding energy range before the high resolution spectra were acquired. The experimental intensities were estimated from the areas of the corresponding peaks, measured on smoothed original peaks. The area of the Pt 4f peak includes the areas of both Pt 4f_(7/2) and 4f_(5/2) peaks. The results are listed in Table XIII.

As listed in Table XIII, a Pt 4f_(7/2) binding energy of 71.2 eV was measured for the prior art catalyst (Sample 3A). The measured values for the Pt 4f binding energies, peak hwhm (half width at half maximum) and peak intensities closely match the theoretical and model XPS handbook values of Pt 4f peaks for Pt (0) oxidation state, i.e., for Pt metal. These values were further used for curve fitting of the Pt 4f peaks for the catalysts according to the present invention.

TABLE XIII XPS data for Pt/C Powders I (Pt 4f)/ I (N 1s)/ I (C 1s) I (C 1s) Pt 4f_(7/2) peak (relative (relative Example position (eV) intensities) intensities) Sample 3A* 71.2 0.682 0.028 (1.5 at. %) 27B 71.2 (80%) 0.305 0.000 72.5 (20%) 31C 71.4 0.481 0.020 (1.0 at. %) 32A 72.1 (80%) 0.398 0.000 73.2 (20%) 32B 73.4 0.352 0.149 (5.6 at. %) 33B 73.3 0.406 0.165 (7.0 at. %) 37C 71.8 0.489 0.009 (0.4 at. %) 38A 71.6 0.525 0.000 39A 71.7 0.327 0.000 39B 71.6 0.234 0.022 (1.1 at. %) 40C 71.9 0.327 0.025 (1.3 at. %) *prior art

Table XIII also contains information regarding the I(Pt 4f)/I(C 1s) relative intensities, which can be used to measure the dispersion of the Pt clusters on the carbon support. Since almost all of the catalysts of the examples contain an identical amount of Pt as Example 3A (20 wt. % Pt), the relative intensities I(Pt 4f)/I(C 1s) can be used for direct comparison of their Pt dispersion relative to the one for the commercial catalyst. This is mostly accurate for the catalysts of the present invention that have comparable surface area to the commercial catalyst, e.g., those prepared at spray conversion temperatures of 300° C. and above in nitrogen and at 400° C. and above in air.

Table XIII also lists the relative intensities I(N 1s)/I(C 1s) and the surface concentration of nitrogen in atomic percent for all catalysts analyzed by XPS. Example 3A (prior art) contains small impurities of nitrogen, which could indicate the use of nitrogen-containing reagents in the preparation of the catalyst or the presence of a nitrogen-containing surfactant.

As can be seen from the Pt 4f spectrum for Example 27B, the curve fit for the Pt 4f peaks cannot be accomplished using only the doublet related to Pt(0) oxidation state. A second doublet of Pt 4f peaks is needed with binding energy of 72.5 eV for the Pt 4f_(7/2) peak. This Pt 4f_(7/2) binding energy can be related to Pt (II) oxidation state indicating that the conversion of the Pt precursor to Pt metal is not complete in Example 27B. The relative intensity of the second doublet related to Pt (II) oxidation state accounts for approximately 20% of the total Pt 4f peak area and therefore up to 20% of the Pt in the Example 27B is not converted to Pt (0) oxidation state, indicating that spray conversion in air at 400° C. does not completely reduce the Pt precursor to Pt(0) and does not produce good dispersion of Pt clusters on the carbon support. The value of the relative intensity I(Pt 4f)/I(C 1s) for Example 27B is more than two times lower compared to the one for the commercial catalyst. No nitrogen impurities, however, were detected for Example 27B.

It should be noted that for Pt-based fuel cell catalysts, supported on carbon, highly dispersed Pt metal clusters are required for achieving high catalytic activity. Therefore, achieving high dispersion of Pt in the Pt (0) state can be used as criteria for the prediction of catalytic performance of the fuel cell catalysts.

In order to find optimal spray conversion conditions for achieving complete Pt reduction and high dispersion, the changes in these characteristics as a function of the spray conversion temperature and the carrier gas composition were analyzed. In general, a shift in the position of the Pt 4f_(7/2) peak towards higher than 71.2 eV binding energies was considered an indication of a non-complete reduction to Pt metal. Simultaneously, a relative intensity I(Pt 4f)/I(C 1s) lower than the commercial sample is indicative of lower Pt cluster dispersion, corresponding to higher average size of Pt clusters. For Example 38A, the XPS analysis was repeated in order to estimate the accuracy of the measurements. A comparison between the two analyses shows excellent reproducibility for the XPS peak positions and less than 2% difference in the XPS relative intensities.

FIG. 59 illustrates the dependence of the Pt 4f_(7/2) binding energy position for the catalysts (formed from Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ precursor) as a function of the spray conversion temperature and the carrier gas composition. A conversion temperature of at least 500° C. is necessary with air as a carrier gas to achieve a reasonably high degree of conversion to the Pt (0) oxidation state. There are no significant differences observed when nitrogen is used as a carrier gas. An increase of the conversion temperature to 700° C. does not lead to improved results. Therefore, when Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ precursor is used in the formulations, a temperature of at least about 500° C. seems adequate for achieving complete conversion of the precursor and formation of Pt metal species.

In support of that conclusion are the high-resolution XPS spectra which were measured for Example 32B and Example 33B. Both catalysts were made at a conversion temperature of 200° C., Example 32B with air as a carrier gas and Example 33B with nitrogen as a carrier gas. In addition to the peaks at 73.2 eV for Pt(II) oxidation state, e.g., partially converted precursor, another Pt 4f peak doublet appears with Pt 4f_(7/2) binding energy of approximately 75.6 eV which is very close to the value for the Pt (IV) oxidation state. In the N 1s region peaks at 404.2 eV and 406.5 eV are observed and related to NO₂ and NO₃ species, which confirms the conclusion for non-complete precursor conversion. This non-complete conversion results in a concentration of nitrogen in these catalysts of up to 7 atomic percent.

An increase in the conversion temperature to 300° C. (Example 32A) leads to a significant decrease of the nitrogen impurities. However, even though the precursor conversion is more complete, approximately 20% of the Pt in the Pt(II) oxidation state.

As mentioned above, the dispersion of the Pt clusters is of significant importance for achieving high catalytic activity. FIG. 60 illustrates the dependence of the relative intensities I(Pt 4f)/I(C 1s) as a function of spray conversion temperature. In general, at identical spray conversion temperatures, the catalysts made with nitrogen as a carrier gas show higher relative intensities I(Pt 4f)/I(C 1s) and therefore have better dispersion of Pt on the support surface. An increase of the spray conversion temperature up to 500° C. leads to improved Pt dispersion for both air and nitrogen as the carrier gases. Increasing the spray conversion temperature to 700° C. is not beneficial for the Pt dispersion. The highest I(Pt 4f)/I(C 1s) relative intensity value is observed for Example 38A, which was prepared at 500° C. conversion temperature in nitrogen. The relative intensity I(Pt 4f)/I(C 1s) of 0.525 for Example 38A is still lower than the one measured for Sample 3A, which suggests lower dispersion. However, no nitrogen impurities are detected for Example 38A, while about 1.5 atomic percent impurities were detected for Sample 3A.

Two of the samples listed in Table XIII were synthesized with a different Pt precursor (H₂Pt(OH)₆), with only 10 weight percent Pt. The XPS data for Examples 39B and 40C illustrate that a reaction temperature of at least 400° C. in air is necessary for achieving the Pt (0) oxidation state from this precursor. The Pt has higher dispersion for Example 40C, which was prepared at 300° C. compared to Example 39B, prepared at 400° C. This result is in contrast with the XPS data for samples based on Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ precursor, for which higher conversion temperatures led to better Pt dispersion. This result suggests that H₂Pt(OH)₆ precursor converts at lower temperatures compared to Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂, and undesirable diffusion and agglomeration of Pt clusters occurs at higher conversion temperatures.

XPS analysis of the electrocatalyst powders provides information regarding important characteristics of the catalysts such as Pt oxidation state and dispersion, which influence the catalytic activity of the powders. However, other characteristics of the catalysts such as Pt cluster size distribution may have significant impact on the catalytic activity as well. Since XPS data gives only an estimate of the average metal dispersion, other methods such as TEM and hydrogen chemisorption can be employed for further information about the Pt/C catalyst structure.

FIGS. 61 and 62 illustrate high magnification TEM images for Example 3A (prior art). The catalyst has good overall uniformity of the distribution of Pt clusters on the carbon support particles. The Pt cluster size distribution is very narrow and most of Pt clusters have a diameter between about 3 and 5 nanometers.

In contrast, the overall cluster size distribution for the Pt/C electrocatalyst powders of the present invention is not as uniform. FIGS. 63 and 64 illustrate high resolution TEM images for Example 31C (FIG. 63) and Example 38A (FIG. 64). For both samples, agglomeration of the Pt clusters is observed in some area of the catalysts, while low coverage with Pt clusters is observed in other areas. This apparently leads to the lower overall dispersion of Pt as found by XPS analysis.

However, the overall distribution for Example 38A (FIG. 64), which was spray converted at 500° C. in nitrogen, is significantly better compared to Example 31C (FIG. 63), which was spray converted at 500° C. in air. This observation is in agreement with the XPS data for Pt dispersion and confirms that carrier gas has influence on the catalyst formation and Pt dispersion in particular.

FIGS. 65 and 66 illustrate that Pt cluster size distribution for catalysts of the present invention is much broader than for Sample 3A, with Pt cluster diameter varying between 1 and 10 nanometers. However, a significant number of Pt clusters with a size below 3 nanometers are observed. Comparison between FIG. 61 (Sample 3A) and FIG. 65 (Example 39A) illustrates that for Example 39A, Pt clusters of about 1 to 2 nanometers are observed.

FIGS. 67 and 68 illustrate high magnification images of Example 39B, synthesized with H₂Pt(OH)₆ precursor. Comparing FIG. 65 and FIG. 67, which were prepared with two different precursors at identical conversion temperatures the degree of non-uniform deposition is significant for Example 39B. When H₂Pt(OH)₆ precursor was used, the degree of agglomeration of Pt clusters is much higher, likely due to enhanced diffusion of the Pt clusters. Since the decomposition temperature for the H₂Pt(OH)₆ precursor is lower, the Pt clusters are formed earlier in the spray conversion process and have a longer time to diffuse and form agglomerates.

Samples of the Pt/C electrocatalysts were evaluated in PEM fuel cells and the results of the electrochemical characterization were compared to two commercially available electrocatalysts. The Examples which were electrochemically characterized are Examples 37C, 38A, 39A and 39B.

Gas diffusion cathodes were fabricated by the catalyst ink method. The Pt/C catalyst was dispersed in a Nafion/alcohol/water solution to give a stable ink suspension. Specifically, 1 g of the electrocatalyst was mixed in 2 ml i-propanol (after being wetted with a small amount of water to avoid pyrogenic effects), and suspended in 10 ml of stock Nafion solution (5 wt. % of polymer in water/i-propanol mix). This ink yields a Catalyst/Nafion ratio of 2:1, which is to remain during the electrode preparation in order to incorporate the electrocatalyst particles into the Nafion polymer electrolyte membrane.

The gas diffusion electrode is prepared by brush application of a suspension of non-porous acetylene carbon black (Shawinigan Black, Chevron Chem. Co., Houston, Tex.), and Teflon emulsion (DuPont) to give a 35 to 40 weight percent Teflon/carbon ratio onto a carbon cloth. The gas-diffusion electrode, soaked with the Teflon/carbon suspension, is heat treated at 300° C. to 350° C. for 1 hour. This temperature range is near the glass-transition point of the Teflon material.

The Pt/Carbon electrocatalyst ink is applied on the impregnated cloth by a brush when the electrode is mounted on a hot plate at 90 to 100° C. The electrode is then treated at 155° C. in air for 20 to 30 minutes, which is close to the melting point of Nafion material. The catalyst loading is determined from the electrode weight.

The platinum loading of the cathodes was 0.20±0.01 mg/cm² which is considered low by industrial standards for oxygen electrocatalysts. All hydrogen electrodes (anodes) were loaded with 0.05 mg/cm² of platinum using a 10% Pt/C commercial catalyst.

Membrane electrodes assemblies (MEAs) were fabricated by hot pressing electrodes symmetrically (catalyst side facing the membrane) onto both sides of a Nafion 112 (CG Processing, Inc.) PEM at 200° C., to allow melting of the membrane and the Nafion material from the catalytic layers. The performance evaluation of MEAs was carried out in test cell with a working area of 50 cm² between ribbed graphite plates and copper end plates at 50° C. and an atmospheric pressure of humidified reactant gases.

FIG. 69 illustrates a comparison of voltamograms (cell potential vs. current density plots) for MEAs comprising different commercial catalysts (Samples 4A and 5A) and a catalyst according to the present invention, prepared and measured under identical conditions. The results were obtained with electrocatalysts containing 20 weight percent platinum on an identical carbon black support. It is evident from these curves that the electrocatalyst of the present invention demonstrates superior performance in the MEA. Numerical expression of this superiority can be derived from the current density corresponding to a cell potential of 0.6 V. Both prior art electrocatalysts provide about 400 mA/cm² while the electrocatalyst of the present invention provides 600 mA/cm², a 50% improvement of MEA performance at a cell potential of 0.6 V.

FIG. 69 illustrates that the electrode fabricated with the electrocatalyst of the present invention demonstrates overall higher current densities within the entire investigated range of potentials. At the same time, the polarization curve is characterized by lower dependence of the current on the potential (lower negative slope of the curve in its “linear” portion), which indicates lower ohmic resistance of the catalytic layer. The dependence of the potential on current density remains practically linear even at high current densities, indicating that there is no expression of any diffusion limitations in the investigated current density range.

FIG. 70 is a Tafel plot of the data from the low current density region of FIG. 69. A Tafel plot is a semi-logarithmic data-representation used to establish the mechanism of the reaction (from the negative slope of the linearized dependencies) and to reveal the catalytic effects expressed as the position of the intercepts on the current density axis. The off-gas from the reactor, or a portion thereof, can advantageously be recycled to conserve gas quantities. The recycled gas can be treated to remove unwanted components and fresh H₂. FIG. 70 illustrates that the advantageous performance of the catalyst generally revealed in FIG. 69 is due to higher catalytic activity. All three curves are linear (in semi-logarithmic coordinates) with the same negative slope, suggesting a uniform mechanism of oxygen reduction. The curve corresponding to the electrocatalyst of the present invention, however, is shifted toward higher current densities with a positive difference in the current density axis cutoff of approximately 30 mA/cm². Both prior art samples demonstrate practically identical catalytic activity.

The improvement in catalytic activity of the electrocatalyst of the present invention when compared to the prior art samples can be explained by the platinum cluster size and its distribution on the carbon surface. SEM microphotographs of the electrocatalysts of the present invention compared to the prior art electrocatalyst show that the catalyst of the present invention possesses a significant amount of smaller size platinum clusters (1–2 nm) compared to the prior art samples. This results in an increased platinum utilization and a larger reaction interface in the active layer of the oxygen electrode.

FIG. 71 is a comparison of the polarization curves obtained with a Pt/C catalyst of the present invention (20 weight percent Pt) with the best performing research sample known to the present inventors, a Pt—Co—Cr/C composite electrocatalyst (Sample 6A). This catalyst is applied to the electrode surface to give identical loading, measured as Pt metal per cm². Due to the amount of Pt in the electrocatalyst of the present invention, the electrode is loaded with 3-times less catalyst than the Sample 6A. The polarization curves of both electrodes practically coincide demonstrating unique matching of the performance of an advanced tri-metal composite catalyst by the simpler Pt electrocatalyst of the present invention.

FIG. 72 compares the polarization curve obtained with another prior art electrocatalyst (Sample 7A) with an example of the present invention with the same Pt content. The curves are obtained with different Pt loadings of 0.21 mg/cm² for Sample 7A and 0.11 mg/cm² for the electrocatalyst of the present invention. Coinciding curves are observed when the Pt loading of the electrocatalyst of the present invention is about half of the amount of the commercial catalyst. This clearly indicates a significant commercial advantage of the present invention: the Pt/Carbon catalyst meets the same performance achieved with half of the amount of the catalyst material, thus significantly reducing the amount of Pt used with no loss in performance.

FIG. 73 illustrates the performance of two examples of the present invention with different Pt content when ambient air is used to feed the oxygen gas diffusion electrode in the cell. As expected, the electrocatalyst with the lower Pt content (10% Pt/Carbon) provides lower current densities compared to the one with higher metal content (20% Pt/Carbon). It should be noted, however, that the curves are obtained with electrodes that have been prepared with identical total amount of Pt. Thus, the lower Pt content sample has been applied in an amount doubling the use of the catalyst. Reduction of the electrochemical performances however, is still to the level of those obtained with the prior art electrocatalysts (compare FIG. 73 and FIG. 69). The 10% Pt/Carbon sample curve of the present invention overlaps with the 20% Pt/Carbon prior art samples.

FIG. 74 is obtained with the same MEA as FIG. 73 and illustrates the performance of the electrocatalysts of the present invention with different Pt content when pure oxygen is used to feed the oxygen gas diffusion electrode in the cell. Flowing pure oxygen through the electrode largely eliminates the mass transport limitations, especially those associated with macro-diffusion processes. The curve obtained from the electrocatalysts with lower Pt content (10% Pt/Carbon) is shifted to approximate the one obtained from the catalyst with higher metal content (20% Pt/Carbon). Thus, FIG. 74 demonstrates that lower performance of the 10% sample (as illustrated in FIG. 73) is associated with the thickness of the catalytic layer formed when double the amount of material is used. This is confirmed by the Tafel plot of the data at low current densities (where the catalytic performance is not masked by the transport processes) as illustrated in FIG. 75.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it is apparent that modifications and adaptations of those embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be expressly understood that such modifications and adaptations are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 

1. A powder batch comprising composite electrocatalyst particles, said electrocatalyst particles comprising a secondary support phase and an active species phase dispersed on said support phase, wherein said support phase comprises agglomerated primary support particles having an average size of from about 10 to about 100 nanometers, wherein the average cluster size of said active species phase is not greater than about 20 nanometers and wherein said electrocatalyst particles have a surface area of at least about 90 m²/g.
 2. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said active species phase has an average cluster size of from about 0.5 nanometers to about 5 nanometers.
 3. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein at least about 50 percent of said active species phase has an average cluster size of not greater than about 3 nanometers.
 4. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said active species phase comprises a metal.
 5. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said active species phase comprises a platinum group metal.
 6. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrocatalyst particles have a surface area of at least about 200 m²/g.
 7. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said primary support particles comprise carbon.
 8. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said primary support particles comprise graphitic carbon.
 9. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrocatalyst particles have an average particle size of not greater than about 10 μm.
 10. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, said electrocatalyst particles have an average particle size of from about 1 :m to about 10 μm.
 11. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrocatalyst particles are substantially spherical.
 12. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrocatalyst particles comprise from about 20 to about 40 weight percent of said active species phase.
 13. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrocatalyst particles have a porosity of at least about 40 percent.
 14. A powder batch as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrocatalyst particles have an average particle size of at least about 0.3 μm.
 15. A powder batch of metal-carbon composite electrocatalyst particles, said electrocatalyst particles comprising a secondary carbon support phase and a metallic active species phase dispersed on said support phase, wherein said secondary support phase comprises primary carbon particles having an average size of from about 20 to about 40 nanometers and wherein the average cluster size of said metallic active species phase is not greater than about 10 nanometers and wherein said electrocatalyst particles have an average particle size of at least about 0.3 μm and not greater than about 100 μm.
 16. A powder batch as recited in claim 15, wherein said metallic active species phase comprises a platinum group metal.
 17. A powder batch as recited in claim 15, wherein said metallic active species phase comprises platinum metal.
 18. A powder batch as recited in claim 15, wherein said active species phase comprises a metal alloy.
 19. A powder batch as recited in claim 15, wherein said electrocatalyst powders have a surface area of at least about 200 m²/g.
 20. A powder batch as recited in claim 15, wherein said electrocatalyst powders have a porosity of at least about 40 percent.
 21. A powder batch as recited in claim 15, wherein at least about 50 weight percent of said active species phase has a cluster size of not greater than about 3 nanometers.
 22. A powder batch as recited in claim 15, wherein said average particle size is at least about 0.5 μm.
 23. A powder batch as recited in claim 15, wherein said average particle size is not greater than about 20 μm. 